Fire: Chapters 16 through 18 Abridged
by Wren Sharpbeak
Summary: Chapter 18: The Gloaming. Segment 6: One Last Surprise.
1. 16:1 A Matter of Perception

**Disclaimer:** the characters and places in the following work of fan-fiction are the intellectual property of Nickelodeon and, as such, they reserve the right to remove this story at their sole discretion. Furthermore, any similarities between the plotline of this fan series and canon are purely coincidental.

**SPOILER WARNING! SPOILER WARNING! SPOILER WARNING!**

This chapter contains physical descriptions of the Western Air Temple as it is shown in the canon series. Therefore, if you have not seen the episodes following 'The Day of Black Sun' and do not wish to know what the temple looks like, then please do NOT read any further!

No other spoilers for the canon season three will be contained in this story, as my plotline is (obviously) vastly different from the show. So if you don't mind getting a 'glimpse' of what the Western Air Temple looks like, and only want to avoid plot spoilers for the canon, then you may continue without worry.

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Fire Chapter 16: The Sanctuary

Segment 1: A Matter of Perception

Ozai glared through the fiery curtain at the three generals kowtowing before him, his frown deepening with every word they spoke.

"Everyone has been questioned thoroughly, my Lord, and there is no way information about the trap could have been leaked," one insisted with a calm he didn't feel. "Aside from the bison sighting, there has been no other sign of the Avatar or Pr-….or the traitor."

The flaming wall had roared dangerously at the general's near slip-up, and he was sweating profusely, fearing the same punishment as the last man to make the mistake of mentioning by name the disavowed son of the Fire Lord. He sighed with relief when the fire calmed and Ozai instead posed a different question.

"Has there been any word from my daughter?"

Another man gulped nervously as he lifted his head to speak. "No, Sire. She has not yet reported in…"

"I see."

"But the beast is quick and can be difficult to track," he continued timidly, "It may take some time. We already have half of the northern division looking for it-"

"Then double you efforts," Ozai instructed tersely, "I want them found…and _destroyed_."

As one, the three generals touched their heads to the floor in obedience.

"You are dismissed."

Once they had filed from the hall, the barrier of flames dropped and Ozai stepped down from the dais. He exited to a small side room and closed the door, pulling a long bell cord on his way to an open window. A few moments later, two withered old women entered and bowed briefly before their sovereign.

"It seems the Avatar is a coward after all," the Fire Lord remarked dryly, gazing out at the city below.

"Do not discount him," warned Li.

"He has powerful allies, much wiser than he," added her sister.

"Like my worthless son?" Ozai scoffed.

"Cunning as Azula, he is not," agreed Lo.

"But he is persistent," Li cautioned, "and will not stray from his course."

"If he means to end you," continued Lo.

"Then he will," they concluded in unison.

Ozai glanced back at the wizened crones, a look of minor irritation clouding his features before settling his gaze back to the view outside. His brow furrowed as he contemplated the twins' counsel.

"How is our _guest_?" asked Ozai suddenly, turning to face them.

"Comfortable," answered Li.

"As per your instructions," finished Lo.

Ozai's lips twisted into a cruel smirk as he turned back toward the window.

"Then I have nothing to fear from Zuko," he declared confidently. "He has always felt duty-bound to protect those in danger; it is part of his _nature_." Curling his mouth into a satisfied grin, he added knowingly, "And when the time comes, he will do _exactly_ as I wish."

* * *

"Okay, Momo, let's try this again," Aang stated tiredly, addressing the lemur perched on the edge of the saddle with growing frustration.

He held a long wooden branch over the side of the flying bison and let it drop. Momo leaned forward to watch it fall, trilling curiously, but did not leave his spot. Aang let out a defeated sigh.

"Give it up," snorted Sokka curtly from the reigns. "He's never going to catch on."

Aang blew out a breath, his shoulders sagging as he did so. The tension among his friends was driving him crazy, and what seemed like an excellent diversion, training Momo how to fetch, had turned out to be a complete waste of time.

No one in the group had much of anything to say since they'd left the Fire Nation, and after two days over the ocean, the thick tension between them and their newest 'member' had only intensified. Not that Aang didn't understand the reasons; he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive himself. But it was still wearing on him.

He knew that Sokka only insisted on steering because it kept him as far away from Ty Lee as was physically possible while flying. Toph and Katara were keeping their distance as well, but not so much from any apparent dislike for her as wanting to give her room to grieve in private. The poor girl had been a mess ever since Mai's funeral. As for Zuko, he'd been completely withdrawn, sitting with his arms folded over his chest and seeming to ignore absolutely everyone around him.

"Don't worry, Aang," Katara consoled, "I'm sure he'll get it eventually. Maybe you just need to try a different approach."

"I guess," he said, plopping down across from Zuko and laying his staff in the middle of the saddle. The prince picked it up and eyed it thoughtfully as Aang continued talking. "Although I really thought it would be sort of instinctual. According to the monks, lemurs were born staff fetchers."

"Well, Momo _has_ been on his own for a long time, with no one to train him," reasoned Katara.

"You're right," agreed the boy dolefully, "I should just be more patien-" Aang gasped mid-sentence and clutched his head in dismay as he watched Zuko toss the antique glider-staff over Appa's side. "Zuko, what are you _doing_!"

Aang lept to his feet and made to dive after it, but the fire bender stood just as quickly and threw an arm across his chest, holding him back just as Momo swooped past them both and down into the clouds below. Zuko released his grip on Aang and together they stared into the swirling white, Aang with his breath held anxiously all the while.

A moment later, the lemur was sailing back up toward them with the staff clutched tightly in his feet. Circling over their heads, he dropped it right into Zuko's hands and then alighted onto Aang's shoulder, chirruping proudly at the stunned air bender. Aang looked from Zuko, to Momo, then back to Zuko.

"How did you know he'd do that?" asked the boy in a tone of wonder.

"Because he's not stupid," Zuko replied sharply. "Those twigs don't _mean_ anything to you, but _this_," he held up the staff for emphasis, "is important." He handed the glider-staff back to its owner and sat down, crossing his arms again and glaring at nothing in particular as he finished sternly, "You're a fool to assume that he can't tell the difference."

Aang blinked in astonishment at the harsh rebuke, and then stared thoughtfully at the staff in one hand as he absently petted Momo with the other, carefully considering what Zuko had just said. The brief moment of excitement over, the rest of the entourage looked somewhat guiltily away from the scene they'd just witnessed and returned to their bored cloud gazing.

No one spoke another word for the rest of the day.

* * *

The next morning, as they broke down the camp and prepared to fly the rest of the way to the temple, Aang was determined to try and dispel the pall that hung over their mismatched little troupe. Once everyone was settled into Appa's saddle, he handed each person (except for Toph) a piece of cloth.

"What's this for?" asked Sokka, staring down at the long strip of fabric.

"I want all of you to put those over your eyes until we get to the Western Air Temple, and no one takes them off until we land," he instructed firmly.

"Why? Is this place some sort of big secret that no one is supposed to know the way to?" questioned the warrior again.

"No," explained Aang calmly directing his gaze toward Toph meaningfully, "I just want _everyone_ to see it at the _same time_."

The girl straightened up in her seat with a blink of surprise, too stunned to say anything. A moment later she let out a short breath that sounded something like a muted 'huh', and then settled back again with a small grin as Appa took to the air.

When Aang looked back a short while later, he noticed that Zuko still hadn't put his blindfold on, but merely sat there twining and untwining it around his hands. The air bender leaned back and whispered discretely to his friend, not wanting to draw anyone else's attention to the fact that the prince wasn't participating.

"Zuko, you're not wearing your blindfold."

"There's no point," the fire bender replied peevishly, "I've already seen it."

He flicked a meaningful glance at the younger boy and then quickly looked away. But was long enough for Aang catch the remorse and shame reflected there, something the Avatar hadn't seen from the banished prince since those difficult first few weeks after he'd joined them.

"Oh," Aang replied uncomfortably, "Well…I guess it doesn't matter then if you don't wear it."

With that, he returned his attention to steering the massive air bison. But as they neared the temple, Aang couldn't help but smile with warm affection when he looked over his shoulder to make sure the others still had their eyes covered.

Zuko had tied his blindfold on after all.

* * *

"Wow!" Toph breathed, "Now _that's_ what I call architecture!"

She was the first one to find their voice upon landing at the Western Air Temple and seeing it for the first time. Around her, the others craned their necks to gaze up at the buildings hanging down from above them like stalactites. The whole place had been carved into the side of a giant canyon, completely hidden away in the misty crevice.

Only Zuko seemed unaffected by the bizarre beauty around them. Like Aang, he was far more interested in fondly watching everyone else's reactions; Toph's delighted smirk, Sokka's slackened jaw, Ty Lee's perfect 'O' shaped mouth, and Katara's eyes shining with wonder.

Suddenly feeling the weight of someone's gaze, Zuko glanced sidelong to see Aang beaming smugly up at him. The prince couldn't repress the grin that tugged at his mouth in reply, and his friend's face brightened even more at the sight of it. It was the first time Zuko had smiled in days.

Their spirits somewhat lightened, the two boys and Momo began unloading Appa while the others continued gazing around at the temple. They were halfway through getting the bedrolls down when Ty Lee's voice echoed through the open chamber.

"This place is like nothing I've ever seen," she sighed in awe, "I bet it would take _days_ just to see it all."

"Yeah, well, don't get too comfortable," Sokka snipped nonchalantly, "because you're not staying that long."

Aang and Zuko froze midway through a hand-down of blankets, and everyone else turned to regard Sokka with surprise. After a second of stunned silence, Zuko's eyes narrowed in the warrior's direction, the blankets still held aloft as Aang slowly piled on two more.

"What are you talking about?" the prince asked dangerously.

"She's a liability," shrugged Sokka matter-of-factly. "She has to find someplace else to go."

Zuko dropped the blankets on top of the bedrolls and strode over to Sokka menacingly, coming to stand in front of him so that they were almost literally butting heads.

"She's not going _any_where," he insisted firmly, balling his fists at his side.

"Well she can't stay," argued Sokka as he crossed his arms defiantly, not the least bit daunted by Zuko's ire.

"And where would you have her _go_, Sokka?" the fire bender shouted, "Back to the Fire Nation? If Azula finds her, she'll be thrown into prison…or _worse_. If she's with us, then at least she'll be _safe_."

Throughout the argument, Ty Lee's eyes darted nervously from one to the other of the two teens. Noticing the tremors of the girl's anxiousness, and remembering how much she herself had always hated it when her parents used to discuss her welfare as though she were deaf instead of blind, Toph cleared her throat loudly.

"Guys! She's standing _right here_," the blind girl pointed out peevishly. "Don't you think maybe _she_ should have some say in this?"

In unison, both boys turned to her and shouted, "No!"

As they faced each other once more to resume their quarrel, Aang hopped down from Appa's back and quickly stepped between them.

"Toph is right," he declared resolutely, "this should be Ty Lee's decision." Then turning to the girl, he asked gently, "What would _you_ like to do?"

Ty Lee blinked awkwardly as all eyes focused on her. It took a moment for her brain to register that the Avatar himself was offering her the choice of whether to stay or leave. The realization left her completely taken aback.

"I…I suppose I could go back to the circus-"

"Great idea!" Sokka interrupted happily, the matter settled as far as he was concerned.

But Zuko immediately interjected with a stern voice, "Forget it. It would be too easy for Azula to find her there."

"Then she can join a different circus!" suggested the warrior brightly.

"I said _no_-"

"Enough!"

Ty Lee's voice rang loudly throughout the courtyard, abruptly halting the debate. She quickly covered her mouth as the sound continued to echo out into the canyon, seemingly appalled by her own brashness. She waited until it faded before removing her hand and speaking again...more softly this time.

"Zuko, I know you're just trying to look out for me," she explained acceptingly, "but, I don't want to be any trouble. So…as soon as I figure out where I can go…I will."

The prince took a step forward, his expression beseeching and anguished at the same time. "Ty Lee…"

"It's okay," she insisted optimistically, offering a brave smile. "I'll be fine."

His shoulders slumped in resignation as he acknowledged her choice. Instead, he shot an angry glower at Sokka.

"Happy?" he snarled.

"Yup!" replied the water tribesman, stretching languidly. "I'm all good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check out the place and see if I can find anything in the way of a map of the area." Striding past Ty Lee, he pointed a hand at her without looking in her direction. "In the meantime, just keep your little pokey fingers away from me."

Aang, Katara, and Zuko returned to the task of unloading, the prince doing so sullenly, and Ty Lee stared after Sokka until he disappeared inside the building. When he was gone, she turned to Toph and murmured dejectedly.

"He _really_ doesn't like me, does he?"

"Meh," Toph shrugged with a dismissive wave of her hand, "He's probably just still mad at you for beating up his girlfriend and using her clothes to sneak into Ba Sing Se."

Ty Lee's shoulders slumped guiltily as she glanced back in the direction he'd gone.

"He has a girlfriend?"

"Yeah," Toph replied, and Ty Lee was surprised to hear a note of despondency in the earth bender's voice.

With nothing left to say, Toph wandered off into the temple, leaving Ty Lee standing alone by the courtyard's central fountain. She let out a soft sigh and then headed over toward where the other three where unloading the sky bison. If she was going to be with them for a while, then she figured she might as well make herself useful.

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Author's note:

I'm sure some of you are wondering if I had imagined the Western Air Temple in my story to be the same as it is on the show. The answer is no.

While most of the ideas in my mock series are adapted from the more popular scenarios found in Avatar fan-fiction, the geography of the world itself is based directly off canon, and I do my best to incorporate new information about the Avatar universe whenever I learn it. So any concepts I might have had for the Western Air Temple were immediately dismissed once I saw episode 3:12 (yes, I've already seen everything up to 'The Boiling Rock').

However, it _has_ always been my plan for the gang to go to the Western Air Temple after the eclipse. That much, I did not change after seeing the show.

**ALSO!** When reviewing, please try not to mention any spoilers from the show, as not everyone has jumped ahead to see the unaired episodes. If you would like to discuss any similarities between my story and the canon, please do so on my FanFiction forums.

Thank you!


	2. 16:2 Peace Offering

**From Fire Chapter 16: The Sanctuary**

Segment 2: Peace Offering

"I want to apologize for Sokka," Katara offered awkwardly as she and Ty Lee prepared dinner inside the temple kitchen. "I don't know what's gotten into him. He isn't usually like this."

"It's okay; I know he's only trying to protect you all."

"And Zuko wants to protect _you_," Katara pointed out gently.

As hard as it was for Katara to admit, she rather liked Ty Lee. All of their past conflict aside, the perky acrobat was actually very pleasant and easy to get along with. In fact, it amazed her that she could have ever fallen in with the likes of Azula.

And while she couldn't begrudge Ty Lee her decision to leave, Katara really wished she'd change her mind. It didn't seem right that she should base her choice off of one person's desire to see her gone: especially when that person was Katara's own unreasonable brother.

"I know," Ty lee answered sadly. She then turned to Katara and smiled. "Some things never change I guess."

Katara threw her an inquisitive look. "What do you mean?"

"Zuko being protective," the girl explained matter-of-factly as she returned to her vegetable slicing. "He's always been like that."

"Really?"

For some reason this surprised Katara. She had always believed that Zuko's inexplicable sense of duty to defend their small group was a recent development; one of the ways he had changed for the better. So it was with great interest that she listened to Ty Lee.

"Yeah, he has," she was saying fondly. "I mean, once, when we were kids, I fell out of a tree and hurt my ankle. Well, Zuko found me crying in the garden, so he picked me up and carried me on his back, all the way to the palace infirmary. Of course, Azula told him he was stupid for not getting a servant to do it, but that's just the way he is," she shrugged. "He saw I was hurt and he took care of me."

Katara glanced thoughtfully out the window to the courtyard below, where Zuko was currently admonishing Aang for a mistake he had made with his fire bending, and she could just make out the sound of his voice drifting up to the kitchen window.

"You have to step _into_ the attack to defend against it, Aang," he chided seriously, "not _away_ from it. If you try to retreat, your root will be broken. And if that happens, you _lose_." He walked a short distance away and took up his stance. "Now try it again."

Throughout the gentle scolding, she could hear something else in the prince's voice: something that if she had been paying attention sooner, she might have noticed a _long_ time ago. It was concern, worry…fear. He was hard on Aang during their lessons because he didn't want to the boy to get hurt. Not by him, and not by his father. Zuko looked after Aang like a big brother. He looked after _all_ of them that way.

She remembered how upset Zuko had gotten when Toph had been poisoned, how solicitous he'd been toward the younger girl when she was seasick on the trip over. Reflecting on what Ty Le had just told her, Katara's face softened with amused wonder.

"Somehow, I can see him doing that," she admitted.

"Zuko is _definitely_ a softie," Ty Lee said knowingly, "no matter how tough he acts."

And that was when it struck Katara that perhaps Zuko _hadn't_ changed at all. Maybe he had simply stopped pretending to be someone he wasn't. And that the fierce prince who had chased them all over the world wasn't the _real_ Zuko. It was someone he had fabricated in an effort to do what he felt had to be done. Suddenly, it all made perfect sense, and it made her realize something else.

"Well, so is _Sokka_," insisted Katara with a sly smirk. She picked up a dragon-heart and hefted it contemplatively. "And I happen to know _exactly_ how to soften him up."

She plopped the fruit meaningfully into Ty Lee's hand, and as comprehension dawned on the acrobat, an uncertain laugh escaped her mouth in spite of herself. It was an infectious sound that Katara couldn't help but share along in, and for that moment, there was no discomfiture between them. They were just two girls giggling over silly boys who tired too hard to be manly, and hatching plots on how to outsmart one.

* * *

Dinner that night was an extravagant affair. No longer limited to a simple cooking fire, and with plenty of food remaining from what they'd gathered a few days ago, the girls had been able to put together nothing short of a feast. And as it turned out, Ty Lee _really_ knew how to cook….which worked out perfectly as far as Katara was concerned.

Throughout the meal, she discreetly watched her brother from across the room where they sat in a circle on the ground, noting with satisfaction that he wolfed down everything he could get his hands on, obviously enjoying every bite. And when the dessert was served, steaming rice custard topped with caramelized fruit, Sokka was the first to finish his.

"Wow," he said around his last mouthful, setting his bowl down, "Thif meaw waf reary goot!"

He immediately began glancing around for a second helping, and his eyes settled hungrily on Zuko's untouched dessert sitting between them. The prince, who was still finishing his main course, noticed this, and he fixed the other boy with a warning glare as he scooted his bowl to the other side, out of Sokka's reach.

"Well, I'm glad you think so," Katara replied smugly, "Because _Ty Lee_ made it.

Sokka nearly choked on the bite he was swallowing. Still fighting back a gag reflex, the water tribe warrior stared at his sister in horror.

"You let her cook our _food_?" he cried.

"Yes, Sokka, I _did_."

"What were you thinking?" he gasped as he got to his feet scolding his sister angrily. "How could you trust her with something as important as our _food_? What if she poisoned it?"

Still seated on the ground behind the irritated teen, Zuko's low voice cut dangerously through his rant.

"Stop it, Sokka."

"Please tell me you were in there with her the whole time," he continued heedlessly. "Did you leave her out of your sight? Even for a moment? Because I'm sure that's all she'd nee-"

"That's enough!" roared Zuko, leaping to his feet.

Sokka spun around in surprise, and actually took a step backward away from the advancing prince.

"She didn't poison the food," he seethed, "and she's _not_ a threat."

"How can you be so sure-"

"She saved my _life_!" Zuko shouted in exasperation, "And if Azula catches up with her, Ty Lee's is _forfeit_." He fixed determined eyes on the acrobat's frightened face and reassured her grimly, "I will _not_ let that happen." He then turned his defiant stare at Sokka to add coldly, "and neither will _you_."

Zuko bent down and picked up his bowl of fruit custard, and then thrust it into Sokka's stunned hands.

"Enjoy it," the prince snarled, and without another word, he turned and left the courtyard.

Sokka merely stood there staring guiltily down at the food while everyone looked on in significant silence. At last, Ty Lee got to her feet and started gathering up the empty dinnerware.

"I'll just get started with the dishes," she offered meekly.

Katara stood as well and took the stack from the other girl, throwing her brother a disapproving scowl.

"I'll give you a hand, Ty Lee."

Toph was the next one up, patting her belly heartily as she quipped.

"Well, I think after that tasty meal, I need to do some bending to work if off. How about it, Twinkletoes?"

Aang pulled a disappointed gaze from Sokka as he stood.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Thanks for dinner, Ty Lee," he added sincerely, "it was great."

The girl smiled shyly in his direction before picking up the last bowl and following Katara back to the kitchen while the two youngest went off in search of a good earth bending site, leaving Sokka alone by the fountain still holding Zuko's uneaten dessert. Heaving a heavy sigh, he sat down on the edge of the pool, then cautiously picked up a spoonful and shoved it in his mouth.

Very slowly, he chewed the food, as if expecting at any moment that his throat would close off and he would go into convulsions. But when nothing happened, he quickly gulped down another greedy bite, muttering approvingly as he ate.

"Thif _if_ reary, _reary_ goot."

* * *

Katara was just about to bend the wash water out the window into a nearby gutter-spout when Sokka walked sheepishly into the kitchen, an empty bowl in his hand. She quickly replaced the water in the basin and turned to Ty Lee.

"I'm going to go make sure Aang fed Appa," she stated briskly, heading toward the door.

Ty Lee glanced over her shoulder, an 'okay' on her lips to acknowledge she'd heard, but the sound died as her eyes fell on Sokka. Suddenly left alone with him, she bit her bottom lip nervously, and then quickly diverted her attention back to the dishes she was putting away.

"You can just put that in the sink if you want," she suggested awkwardly, "I'll wash it in a second."

Sokka walked over to basin, and Ty Lee fully expected him to drop the bowl in the water and leave. But instead, he picked up a rag and began to clean it himself. Ty Lee watched from the corner of her eye, hastily looking away when he glanced discretely in her direction.

"So…" he drawled uncomfortably, "where'd you learn to cook like that?"

"My sisters and I all had to learn," she told him, and then a little more lightly she explained, "With seven girls to marry off, my parents wanted to make sure we'd be desirable brides. So we all learned to cook. And sew, and do calligraphy, and play music…" Her voice trailed off as she realized she was rambling. "I'm sorry, this is probably boring you."

"No, it's….it's fine," he answered lamely.

Seeing he was done washing his bowl, Ty Lee held out her hand to take it so she could dry it and put it away. He gave it to her and then stood there uneasily twiddling his thumbs with nothing left to do. At last, he drew in a deep breath and let it out.

"Look…if you're only planning on leaving because of the stuff I said, then don't," he declared genuinely, "Because Zuko's right. The safest place for you right now is with us…and…I'm sorry I've been such a jerk about it."

She turned to him in surprise, her eyes wide with hope.

"Then…you won't be upset if…I decide to stay?" she asked hesitantly.

He shook his head, "No."

Ty Lee's whole face lit up with a smile, and she looked like she was ready to launch herself forward to wrap him in a grateful hug. He promptly stepped back and held up is hands to stop her.

"But don't think that this means I like you," he clarified quickly, "or that we're friends."

Bright eyes still shining happily, she bobbed her head up and down in an affirmative, her braid bouncing gaily behind her.

"And seriously," he continued, "don't ever do the poking thing on me…or anyone else."

"I won't," she swore solemnly, her braid now swishing back and forth and she energetically shook her head. "I _promise_."

The situation resolved, he nodded awkwardly and turned to leave. Just as he was about to walk out the door, she called out.

"Sokka…"

He paused and looked back at her over his shoulder. She stood there timidly with the dishtowel clutched tightly in her hands, looking about as dangerous as two-week old kitten.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

Once more, he nodded, his expression that of someone resigned to having just made a choice he'd probably later regret, and his voice carried the weight of his reluctant acceptance.

"Yeah…don't mention it."

Shaking his head slightly as he finally left the room, he let out sigh. There was still one more person he needed to make peace with.

* * *

He found Zuko on a wide patio overlooking the courtyard, practicing what looked like bending moves, but with without any of the bright element Sokka was accustomed to seeing from the fire bender. The forms were also decidedly different from the things he was teaching Aang; the motions were slower, softer, more fluid. But they were carried out with the same sense of power and focus that Zuko brought to nearly everything he did.

Unseen by Zuko, Sokka walked up and stood behind his friend, watching silently as the prince finished his set. Lost in his own thoughts on what he was going to say, he didn't even notice Zuko go tense, and Sokka had no time to prepare or react when the prince swung around and punched forward.

Sokka let out a squeak as Zuko's fist stopped a hair's breadth from connecting with his nose. Staring cross-eyed at the knuckles in front of him, the warrior gulped, then carefully placed one finger to the side of Zuko's hand and slowly pointed the fist away.

Dropping from his stance, Zuko glared at the other boy and waited expectantly.

"I told Ty Lee she could stay," Sokka informed him quietly.

Zuko's brow furrowed slightly in confusion and surprise as he went to pick his tunic up from a nearby bench.

"Thank you," he murmured earnestly.

"I still have my reservations about this, mind you," continued the warrior sternly, "but I'd rather have her here where we can keep an eye on her, than roaming around so she can blab about how to find us."

The prince nodded in understanding. It wasn't exactly the act of compassion he'd hoped for, but Zuko was willing to take what he could get if it meant he'd be able to keep Ty Lee from Azula's wrath. And Sokka was definitely right; Azula would surely use that as a bargaining chip against her former friend, offering 'forgiveness' in exchange for information. Still, it irritated him that his friend was taking such a hard stance, even with his change of mind.

"You really hate her, don't you?" asked Zuko soberly.

"No, I don't," Sokka insisted, "it's just that…" He sighed miserably as he admitted the truth to himself. "You weren't there when we found Suki. You didn't see what was done to her. I _did_ and…it's hard to let that go."

"Ty lee didn't act alone, you know," Zuko replied pointedly, "and I guarantee you that she wouldn't have done something like that if Azula didn't _expect_ it of her. Ty Lee _isn't_ a bad person….neither was Mai."

Sokka didn't have a response to that, other than to hang his head contritely. After a few moments of awkward slice, he finally looked back up at Zuko, willing to put their past disagreements aside.

"You know…I'm pretty sure I saw another bowl of that fruit custard stuff sitting in the kitchen," he mused, rubbing his chin as he threw Zuko a meaningful smirk.

A smile tugged at Zuko's mouth even as he narrowed his eyes at the other teen. He knew full well that Sokka wasn't offering to let him _have_ the dessert. It was a challenge, with the prize going to whoever could get to it _first_.

They bolted for the kitchen at the exact same time.

Stepping out from the shadows of the patio where she'd been eavesdropping, Katara watched with an affectionate grin as the two boys scuffled through the doorway, Zuko managing to trip up Sokka and get past him. She shook her head with a chuckle and quietly followed, glad that things were finally back to normal.

Well…as 'normal' as things got for their crew anyway.

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**Author's note:**

Thanks and congratulations go to fuzzytomato for displaying the most flattering act of dedication I think I've had from a reader yet. She actually had someone _e-mail_ the previous chapter to her at work so she could read it on her lunch break. 0.o

The scene she selected for me to illustrate will be posted to my deviantArt page just as soon as I can get it done.


	3. 16:3 When the Levy Breaks

**From Fire Chapter 16: The Sanctuary**

Segment 3: When the Levy Breaks

"I'm really, _really_, sorry, Zuko," Aang repeated for what had to be the tenth time as the two made their way through the temple after fire bending practice. He spared another worried glance at the hole singed straight through Zuko's shirtsleeve, wincing at the nasty burn he accidently put on his teacher's arm during their training.

"Don't worry about it," insisted the prince…again. Then with a note of awed amusement, he admitted mildly, "It was a good shot."

Despite the pain in his arm, the prince was honestly quite pleased about what had happened. Aang actually landed a _hit_ on him, and Zuko hadn't been going easy on the kid either. The Avatar's fire bending was becoming more and more focused with each lesson, his skills improving to the point of being a very effective weapon.

This knowledge gave Zuko an unexpected sensation of pride, not so much in his pupil, but in his own abilities as a teacher. However, he quickly quashed the feeling, reminding himself that Aang was the Avatar and that he'd done this a thousand times before. It was only natural that he'd be an excellent fire bender, and Zuko didn't feel it was right to take any of the credit for Aang's bending prowess.

"I'm sure Katara can heal it right up," offered the younger boy.

"Actually," mused Zuko with a small grimace, "it's probably best if we _don't_ tell her."

"Why not?"

"Because _you'll_ get a lecture about controlling your bending, and _I'll_ get one about not being careful," he pointed out wryly.

Aang's face scrunched up in discomfort as he realized the truth in Zuko's theory.

"Good point."

They rounded the corner to the main courtyard to find the object of their conversation sitting by the fountain, patiently tending to her brother who had an arm covered in tiny thorns and a completely miserable scowl on his face. Toph lounged nearby absently picking dirt from her toes with Momo's help, while Ty Lee sat beside her, legs interlaced on her lap in an impossibly uncomfortable-looking meditative posture and her eyes closed in peaceful repose.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Sokka cried, pulling his arm away. "You're supposed to be taking them _out_, not shoving them deeper _in_!"

"Well if you'd hold _still_…" Katara snapped as she yanked his arm back, eliciting a pitiful bleat from the pin-cushioned boy.

"What happened to _him_?" asked Zuko curiously.

"He went up top to scout around, and managed to fall into a prickle-bush," answered Katara irritably.

"But look what I got!" chimed in Sokka cheerfully, holding up a slightly squished, honey-dripping hive with his good arm.

Rolling his eyes at Sokka's one-track mind, the prince walked over to the fountain, splashing cool water onto his face to wash away the sweat and dirt from his training with Aang. He didn't even notice Katara glance over her shoulder at him, or the double take she did when her eyes honed in on the dark scorch emblazoned through the arm of his tunic.

"Why is there a _hole_ in your sleeve?" she asked suspiciously.

Zuko froze, his hand halfway to his face as water dripped from his chin. He hastily dropped the liquid back into the fountain, and gingerly covered the arm as he stepped away.

"Uh, hole?" he stammered, exchanging a slightly panicked glance with Aang, who looked equally anxious, and trying to sound innocently unaware. "Oh that. It's...um...nothing."

Katara's attention on Sokka was immediately abandoned as she stood up, striding purposefully toward the prince with a determined expression.

"Let me see," she demanded.

"It's no big deal," insisted the fire bender, trying to turn so she couldn't get a closer look at the wound.

"I'll be the judge of that."

Before he could stop her or move further away, she griped him by the wrist and wrenched up his sleeve. He hissed in pain at the sudden contact, earning him a fierce glare from the healer. She jerked the fabric back down over the wound.

"You're _burned_."

"I'm _fine_."

She snapped her fuming stare onto Aang, who squirmed under the heat of her gaze.

"I thought you were getting better at controlling your bending," she chided angrily.

"He _is_," Zuko interrupted fervently, "it was a clean shot and a perfectly executed move. You should be proud of his improvement."

"And _you_," she whirled back to address the prince, "how could you be so _careless_? I know you're a better bender than that."

Zuko let out a long-suffering sigh, throwing Aang a look as he did so. His doleful expression had the words _'I told you so'_ written all over it. The Avatar shrugged weakly in reply, his face cringing with apology.

The next moment, Katara was half-leading, half-dragging the prince over to the fountain, where Sokka still sat with several small thorns poking out of the back of his elbow.

"Shouldn't you finish taking care of _him_?" suggested Zuko.

"Yeah!" agreed Sokka indignantly, "What about _me_? I got hurt first."

She threw an unyielding glare at Zuko as she commanded sternly, "Sit."

Resigning himself to his predicament, Zuko dutifully sat down in front of the fountain next to his injured compatriot while Katara shook her head, muttering as she removed the last of Sokka's thorns. On the other side of the room, Ty Lee leaned confidentially over to Toph.

"Is it always like this?" she whispered.

"Yup," Toph replied loudly, continuing her methodical toe picking. "This is typical Katara; clucking and fussing over everyone like a mother hen."

An offended cry burst from the girl in question as the water she using to heal Sokka splashed to the ground.

"I do not_ cluck!" _she protested.

But, at that moment, with her hands perched on her hips and elbows poking out like wings, Katara so closely resembled what Toph had just described that Zuko was helpless to prevent the snicker that suddenly escaped him. Sokka had apparently noticed the similarity as well, for he was also trying to stifle a laugh.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, her chin jutting forward as she looked from one boy to the other, making her head seem to bob like an over-excited chicken.

It was the final straw, causing Sokka and Zuko both to burst out laughing with Toph and Aang immediately joining in with them. Even Ty Lee was attempting to hide a giggle behind her hand.

But even though everyone in the room was now laughing at her, the indignation that should have welled up in Katara never came. She was far too busy staring in shock at Zuko…._laughing._ It was such an unusual sight, unprecedented and yet somehow so natural, that she began chuckling along with the rest of the group in spite of herself.

And somewhere in the back of Zuko's mind, a scornful voice was telling him that he really shouldn't be laughing. That there was far too much need for seriousness and worry to allow for this ridiculous indulgence of humor. But logic and reason seemed to have fled his being entirely. And with it the walls of self-control, built up over half a lifetime, suddenly crumbled under a raging torrent of emotion.

Like the violent rushing waves of a flooding river bursting through a dam, hurt and fear and joy and sorrow poured forth through that sound. All the years of self-doubt and despair, of anguish and pain, of remorse and grief, came roaring out of him in this singular, inexplicable, and completely uncontrollable laughter.

And it _hurt_. Spirits how it hurt. So much so, that tears were rolling from the corner of his good eye. Yet despite the burning in his lungs and the chaos of his unleashed emotions, it felt so _good_.

By now, the others had calmed, and they were staring at Zuko in unabashed alarm as he lay on the ground clutching his sides, laughing madly and seeming beyond the ability to stop. Ty Lee got up and walked over, staring down at the prince with her brows furrowing worriedly.

"You know, if you keep that up," she warned seriously, "you're going to hurt yourself."

The irony of her advice coming _after_ he'd already discovered this the hard way sent him into a fresh fit of laughter.

"Too late!" he moaned between wheezing laughs and gritted teeth.

"O-kay," drawled Sokka nervously, "Zuko has officially _lost_ it."

They continued to stare in confusion and concern until, after a few more moments of irrepressible hysterics, Zuko's laughter at last began to ebb, and he laid there on the ground panting between dying chuckles.

"It wasn't _that_ funny," Katara huffed with her hands perched on her hips and her mouth set into a peevish pout. At the reinstatement of the very thing that had started his unusual fit in the first place, Zuko let go with another round of increasingly painful giggles.

"Don't…," he gasped desperately, "I can't…anymore…."

Finally, Zuko managed to get a grip on himself, wondering what on earth had come over him. He lay on the ground looking up at the topsy-turvy temple, his chest heaving as he finally brought himself under some measure of control. Despite his aching sides and sore face, he felt a wonderful sensation of release. Then he noticed the worried looks on everyone's faces and the aggravated scowl still darkening Katara's.

"I'm sorry," he grinned sheepishly, sitting up. "I don't know what came over me. It's just…well…I can't remember the last time I ever laughed like that."

"Zuko, you've _never_ laughed like that," Ty Lee informed him seriously, "not even when we were _kids_."

"That must be it then," Zuko mused, shaking his head with a small amount of confusion and forcibly fending off the urge to start laughing again. "I think I was just assaulted by every laugh I never had. Once I started, I couldn't stop."

"Are you ok?" asked Aang anxiously.

"I will be…when my sides finally stop aching," he groaned as he rubbed his ribs ruefully.

"Well then, if you're quite finished," interjected Katara in a failed attempt at sounding annoyed, and abandoning it for a gentler tone, "how about you let me take a look at that arm now."

"You don't give up, do you?" he remarked good-naturedly.

"No more than you do," she smiled back.

"Yeah, I hate to say it, Zuko," added Sokka cheerfully, "but she'd probably beat you in a battle of wills."

"She's beaten me in battle period," Zuko quipped, rolling up his sleeve to give Katara access to his burned arm.

She was stunned to note that for the first time, his voice held none of the guilt that typically haunted the prince whenever his previous conflict with the Avatar and his companions was mentioned. It was so unexpected that she didn't know what to say. And when it occurred to her that he'd also just given her a compliment, a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

"So what are we going to do with this?" asked Sokka, holding up the honey-filled hive.

"You mean you fell into a bramble trying to get that thing," Toph asked in exasperation, "and you don't even know what to _do_ with it?"

"I figured one of _them_ would come up with something," he replied, jerking a head toward Katara and Ty Lee.

This got him a scowl from his sister, but the acrobat perked up immediately.

"Actually, I think I know just the thing," she offered brightly. "But I'll need some eggs…"

"I saw some pigeon-geese nests over by the stables," Aang chimed in helpfully. "Maybe there's some there."

He popped open his glider staff and took off, eager to get away before Katara remembered to finish scolding him for burning Zuko, a fact that the injured fire bender was probably the only one to notice.

"Of course, if you don't get that stuff in a container, there won't be any left to cook with," observed Toph wryly as she felt drop after gooey drop land on the cobbled courtyard.

Sokka yelped in dismay as he glanced down to see what the blind earth bender had already noticed. Most of the sweet syrupy substance was now pooled near his feet.

"My honey!"

With that, he hurried off toward the temple kitchens, desperately trying to plug the leaking hive with his fingers. Toph dipped a finger in the honey puddle and tasted it with a grin.

Meanwhile, Ty Lee looked on at the scene in amazement, from Toph leaning languidly back to rest on the cool pavestones, to Katara studiously healing the burn on Zuko's arm. The acrobat shook her head in wonder.

In all the years she had known Zuko, she'd never seen his aura look so decidedly _pink_.

* * *

**Author's note:** Wow. I'd originally planned to have another scene coupled with this update, but things got just a wee bit out of hand while I was writing and it wound up way longer than I'd anticipated. So I'm posting this by itself.

Oddly enough, if I were still doing my series in full 'episode' format, this entire scene would likely have been cut. Not only is it excessively long, but it ultimately has nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. It's merely another one of those ideas that's been bumbling around in my brain for far too long.

Hopefully, no one found it too pointless.

ALSO, the scene fuzzytomato selected for me to illustrate is now on my deviantArt page. Feel free to check it out…comments are greatly appreciated.

**EDIT: 5-10-08**

Someone asked about this, and I probably should have mentioned it sooner for those who don't know much about auras.

**Pink auras**

The meanings of aura colors vary from source to source, but generally speaking, most interpretations agree that pink auras represent love on a predominantly spiritual level. It's an achievement of harmony, and acceptance of one's place in the universe, of contentment and joy. Pink in the aura can also indicate romantic love, but that really wasn't what I was going for in this.

I hope that clears things up a bit.


	4. 16:4 A Touch of Madness

**Fire Chapter 16: The Sanctuary**

Segment 4: A Touch of Madness

Pale gold irises flashed in a crackling ribbon of blue as a scream of pain and astonishment rent the sky. Tears fell from horror-struck grey eyes, mingling with the rain of a violent storm. A burning amber gaze emblazoned in a flow of lava bored into her with wrath and reproach. Thunder detonated in the inky sky, its voice cold and disapproving.

'_What have you done?'_

All around her, faces coalesced and dispersed in the clouds: angry, shocked, sad, and unforgiving. All of them whispering, all of them accusing.

'_Look at her. Look at us. See what you have done_.'

Unable to bear their judgment any longer, she fell to the ground, covering her head with her hands, shaking in denial, begging them to go away. They whirled around her, faster and faster, digging sharpened claws into her flesh, burning and ripping at the very core of her until she screamed in agony.

Then suddenly, the assault ended.

Cautiously, she looked up to find herself high on a secluded peak. Raindrops lingered like crystals frozen in the air, the dark clouds above swirling and glimmering with flashes of multicolored lightning. A dark figure hovered before her, long black hair floating freely around a pale face set with somber topaz eyes. A voice full of hurt and sorrow drifted on the wind.

'_What have you done?'_

"I didn't," she stammered helplessly, "it wasn't my fault."

The sad luminous eyes closed for a moment, and the air seemed to shimmer with a mournful sigh. But when the eyes snapped back open, they glowed with blinding white rage as a thousand icicles raced toward her like daggers.

* * *

Azula bolted upright with a gasp, her chest heaving as she gulped in lungful after lungful of air. With trembling hands, she raked the hair from her sweating brow, quivering and shaking as though trapped in ice.

At last, her breathing slowed to an even pace and she rose from her silken cot, twitching on a robe as she crossed the luxurious tent to a small, mirrored washbasin. Splashing cool water onto her feverish skin, she glanced up into the polished glass.

Her hair was a tangled, matted mess, and her eyes were bloodshot from lack of proper sleep. The thin red welt on her left cheek traced down the side of her face like a tear of blood.

She only barely resisted the urge to shatter the mirror.

A sharp knock on the wooden frame of the tent flap startled the princess from her reflection and she turned to face the doorway with a scowl.

"Enter," she barked.

A young solder stepped in and immediately kowtowed, averting his eyes to the ground.

"The elite unit has arrived, Princess," he informed her briskly. "They await your orders."

Her mouth set into a grim line, unable to conjure any satisfaction at the welcome news. The response she gave was curt and unfeeling, dismissing and instructing the man at the same time.

"I'll be out in a moment."

* * *

Azula strode purposefully before the small, assembled group, her eyes roving critically over them. She took careful note of the Yu Yan archer's meticulously feathered and quivered arrows, the neat rows of grenades lining the chest straps and belt of the munitions expert, the deadly coils of sharpened steel on the lash-master's urumi, and the razor edge of the pudao master's blade.

Although they were young, she could tell that they were each experts.

"I'm sure I don't need to explain to you the importance the task you've been given. I'm told you four are the finest the Fire Nation has to offer, so my expectations are high." She stopped and cast a cold glare at them as she emphasized, "Do _not_ disappoint me."

Returning to her measured pace in front of them, she continued without looking at them, "Should you fail in your duties, I can promise you that your punishment will be swift and precise."

"Pft, why don't you just say 'merciless and deadly?" a gloomy, female voice mocked.

Azula spun on her heel to ascertain the offender among the ranks, her brows pinched with fury.

"Who said that?" she demanded with wild wrath.

The four young men remained at strict attention, their eyes nervously glancing from one another before flicking frontward to avoid the glare of the enraged royal. They were completely at a loss as to what she meant. At last, their commanding officer spoke up tentatively.

"No one said anything, Princess."

The unsettlingly familiar voice droned once more, "Yeah, you're just imagining things."

"Who are you?" Azula gasped, although there was no mistaking that distinctive bored drawl.

Thinking the question directed at him, the young officer answered, keeping his eyes facing straight forward, lest the princess think he meant to challenge her by returning her gaze.

"Lieutenant Commander Renzu, Your Highness. These are my men, and I can assure you that none of them spoke out of turn."

A soft chuckle meandered in the wind, and it took every reserve of Azula's self-control to keep from reacting to it. Instead, she fixed Renzu with a deadly glare.

"See to it that they don't," she threatened in a dangerous hiss, "or you will personally pay the price for their insolence."

"Understood, Princess."

Appearing satisfied by his response, Azula stepped back, clasping her hands behind her to hide the fact that they were shaking. Calming herself with a deep breath, she pinned each soldier with warning glower, then turned and began to stride purposefully toward her tent.

"That is all for now," she called as she walked away.

As soon as she was gone, Renzu let out the air he'd been harboring in his chest, and the shoulders of his subordinates relaxed as well. The munitions expert crossed his arms and tossed Renzu an amused grin.

"Way to make a first impression there, Chief," he chuckled sarcastically.

Renzu narrowed his eyes at the other teen, smirking with mild annoyance and letting out a short, irritable laugh.

"Shut up, Lo-Khi."

* * *

Once inside the privacy of her tent, Azula glanced down at her hands. They were shaking uncontrollably. She gripped her fists one after the other in a vain effort to still them, pacing agitatedly around the tent as she did so.

"It was just my imagination," she muttered sternly to herself, "nothing else."

"Or maybe you're just losing your mind," suggested a sardonic voice from behind her.

Azula whirled around to face what was obviously an intruder in her tent, blue flames leaping to her fingertips. But they sputtered out as her eyes fell upon a familiar figure lounging comfortably on a cushioned bench.

"Mai," her voice cracked in a shocked whisper. But she quickly regained her poise, straightening her shoulders and adopting an arrogant smirk. "I should have known it was you. Have you come to beg my forgiveness?"

The reclining girl narrowed her eyes shrewdly, as she answered, "Don't you think you should be asking for _mine_?"

"I didn't expect you to jump in the way," defended Azula coldly, but there was a tremor of regret underlying her conviction.

"You _lied_ to me," retorted Mai grimly, rising to her feet with menacing fluidity. "You used me to get to Zuko so that you could kill him."

"He's a _traitor_, Mai," she hissed back.

"Yeah, and I protected him," she retorted mordantly. "So what does that make me? Are you going to send me off to a prison now?"

The harsh line of questioning made Azula balk, and she took a step backward shaking her head in confused denial.

"No…" she stammered, "No, you acted impulsively…that's…that's different."

Glancing down, Azula noticed that her hands were shaking again, and she wrung them together in a gesture that was almost pleading. She took a deep breath, trying to piece together her jumbled thoughts and separate them from her turbulent emotions.

"Mai…" began the troubled princess hesitantly, "I thought…when I struck you, I was afraid that…"

She didn't get to finish her statement for a soldier walked in at that moment, cutting across the sound of her voice.

"Forgive the intrusion, Highness, but an urgent message has just arri-"

"How dare you interrupt us!" shrieked Azula, spinning to face the poor man with fury blazing at her hands.

The startled messenger fell back fearfully, glancing around the empty tent in bewilderment.

"'_Us_', Princess?"

Azula snapped her head back to Mai, only to find empty space in the spot where she'd stood. Her eyes widened in fear and alarm, and she fetched about for some sign of where the girl might have gone. But there was nothing; no place for her to be hidden and no exit she could have taken.

"Get out," the princess commanded in a tremulous voice, still staring at where Mai had been standing only an instant before.

"But…the message…"

"I said get _OUT_!" she roared, punctuating the demand with a searing wave of azure flames that sent the man stumbling backwards out the tent flap.

Alone once more, she caved to the tremors that wracked her body as she closed her eyes. All around her, she could hear Mai's low contemptuous laugh, but she didn't dare try to find the source of the sound. She pulled her curled and trembling hands to her temples as if to physically claw the noise out of her brain.

"Get out," she whispered hoarsely, falling to her knees with violent shudders.

"Get out of my head…just…_get out_…"

**

* * *

**

**Author's note: **Yay! I've been dying to get to this part of Azula's character development for about 15 months now! Of course, when I dreamed this up, I thought it would be original and unexpected. But, once again, (if the allusions in the NYCC trailers are true) I've wound up going in the same direction as the show's writers. (sigh)

Oh well, at least my manifestation of Azula's madness is different: a recent development actually. After I realized how much I was going to miss writing Mai, I decided it would be the perfect way to show Azula's slipping grasp on sanity, and much better than any of my original ideas, which just didn't seem as entertaining once I thought of this one. Or as fun to write. ;)

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this better than the last chapter. Not many of you had much to say on that one, so I can only assume that it was worse than I imagined…

I guess I can take comfort in the fact that SOME of you liked it (which is about all I can hope for these days).

Cheers!


	5. 16:5 Path of Enlightenment

**Fire Chapter 16: The Sanctuary**

Segment 5: Path of Enlightenment

Zuko meditated alone in the cool morning shadows on an open patio under the watchful stone gaze of three massive air benders. With each breath he took, he could feel the sun's energy filling him up, warming him down to his very soul. The contrast of the heat inside him against the cool shadows on his skin was invigorating and soothing all at once, and he honestly could not remember when he had ever felt so at peace.

Even through the serenity, however, he knew that time was running out. The comet was less than four weeks away, and they still did not have a plan of attack. And while Aang was definitely progressing by leaps and bounds, there was still something very important that the Avatar needed to master.

With still no further word from Iroh and no clue as to his whereabouts, Zuko knew that this lesson was now his responsibility. He simply wasn't sure he had the skill to teach it. Drawing in another breath, he held it for a moment and then let it out as a slow sigh.

There was only one way to find out.

Still embracing his newfound sense of calm, he rose to his feet and began to bend. As the positive and negative energy around him began to separate, he could not help but reflect that the principle behind creating lightning was a great deal like his life.

For so long, it seemed he'd been split in two, with his heart and mind existing in discord with one another. And always there was this frustrating need to reconnect them, to make them work in tandem once again.

Yet lately, the bitter war that had raged for so long inside him had subsided drastically. For the first time in his life, what he _needed_ to do was also what he _wanted_ to do. And even though he wasn't necessarily in control of his current situation, there was harmony. There was _balance_.

Pale golden light buzzed at his fingertips as he finished the circling arm motions, bringing the energy together and shooting his hand forward, providing the path for release. Lightning sizzled across the vast open canyon, blasting the far side with a low rumble.

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding while he watched the ensuing cascade of stones on the other side. A small smile of satisfaction played at his lips as he nodded in approval.

Aang's lessons were about to get interesting.

* * *

By the time Zuko made it back to the central courtyard, most of the others seemed to be awake. Toph and Aang were already in the midst of a metal bending lesson, the blind girl patiently explaining what to 'look' for when touching a refined earthen substance.

From somewhere above him, Ty Lee's voice echoed out into the open chamber.

"Morning, Zuko!"

The prince glanced up toward the source of the sound to find the acrobat hanging upside-down from a stone railing on a nearby tier.

"What are you doing up there?" he asked, grinning curiously at the odd sight.

"Looking at the temple right side up!" she declared happily. "The Avatar said they used to do this all the time, so I wanted to see it too. You should try, it's really neat!"

"Some other time," he called back with a slight chuckle. He then turned toward Aang. "Are you about finished here? There's something important I need to teach you, so I'd like to get an early start today."

Aang opened his mouth to reply, but Katara's voice cut across.

"Not without a proper breakfast first," she chided, coming into the courtyard carrying a cooking pot.

Zuko rolled his eyes at the motherly decree, but Aang caught a glimpse of the prince's grin and shared in it. Upon Katara's arrival, Ty Lee began making her way down, agilely leaping and somersaulting from ledge to ledge until she reached the courtyard. Sokka, who had come in behind his sister, watched the acrobat's decent with a wary eye and waited until she got to the fountain before making an offhanded suggestion to Katara.

"Why don't you let Ty Lee cook this morning? You look like you could take a break for a change."

Everyone turned to stare at the boy in shock. Even Toph pointed an incredulous, unseeing gaze in his direction and Katara nearly dropped the water she was bending into the crock. But Sokka remained passive, as if there was nothing unusual at all about his proposal.

"I…I'd be happy to," stammered Ty Lee. Eager to prove herself worthy of this unprecedented show of trust, she quickly headed toward the stairs with a bright smile, calling over her shoulder as she went, "One breakfast, coming right up."

The others continued to gape at Sokka, but Zuko only crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at his friend.

"What are you up to?" he asked suspiciously once Ty Lee was out of earshot.

"Nothing," insisted Sokka with a shrug.

Now Aang and Katara were glaring at him with equal skepticism, forcing him grudgingly to admit the truth.

"Okay, okay, it's just that we need to go over our next move and," he turned apologetically to Zuko, "I'm not saying she would blab on purpose, but if something happened and Ty Lee got separated from us and put in a tight spot…well…she can't give away information she doesn't know."

No one had any response to this except to frown thoughtfully. As much as they all hated to admit it, Sokka made a good point. Unable to find any fault with this logic, Zuko let go his irritation at the otherwise thinly veiled lack of trust and merely took a seat on the fountain beside Katara.

"So you've come up with a plan then," he stated.

"Well, sort of," the warrior answered nervously. "It's…kind of risky, actually, but it's probably our best shot now."

"What is it?" asked Aang hesitantly. The other boy drew a deep breath before plunging ahead with his response.

"We use the comet."

The silence that followed left a void filled only by the water burbling in the fountain; a sound that now seemed to roar through the courtyard like tornado. They looked to each other with questioning eyes, wondering if they had heard right.

It was Zuko who found his voice first, breaking the stillness like the shattering of glass.

"You're out of your _mind_!" he declared harshly. "We can't attack during the _comet_! Do you have any idea how much power the Fire Lord will have then?"

"Think about it! If the comet makes fire benders stronger, then you and Aang will be affected too!" insisted Sokka. "And there'll be two you against one of him, plus all of us."

"And what about the _rest_ of the fire benders at the palace?" countered Zuko, "There will be _hundreds_ of them against the _five _of us! We'll never even make it to the throne room!"

"Then we'll get help…"

"From _where_?!"

Zuko was on his feet now, pacing agitatedly like a caged beast and the earlier calm from his morning meditation having fled like the snuffing of a candle.

"Believe it or not, there are a lot of people in the Fire Nation military that aren't happy about this war," Sokka explained quickly, "If we could gather them up we could…"

"Forget it, Sokka," snapped Zuko as he continued to pace, "Just because they are unhappy, doesn't mean they're about to turn against their nation. There's not a single one of them that would-"

"Commander Huo is already planning a coup," interrupted the warrior calmly. "He means to put you on the throne."

This stopped Zuko dead in his tracks, and he whirled to face Sokka, his voice little more than a humbled whisper of disbelief.

"_What_?"

"If we can find a way to get in touch with him," Sokka elaborated, "then he might be able to get us the firepower we need to take the palace."

The prince put a hand to his forehead, his mind reeling in alarm at the idea that someone wanted to overthrow Ozai and put _him_ in the Fire Lord's place. He suddenly felt wholly unworthy.

"We can't..._I_ can't ask…_expect_ them to…" Zuko took a deep breath as he tried to assemble his thoughts. "They'd be committing _treason_, Sokka. That's…just asking too much."

"Huo intends to go through with this with or without our help," reasoned the warrior, "and he has at least two divisions that are loyal to him."

Having stopped his pacing by the fountain's edge, Zuko sat down heavily on the rim as though the all the strength had just been sucked from his legs. He was pretty sure that any moment, the whole temple was going to spin on its axis and turn right side up. He almost wished it would. Maybe things would make more sense then.

Meanwhile, the others regarded the astonished prince with unabashed concern as he rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Even if we can _find_ Huo," Zuko started tiredly, "and he _does_ bring troops willing to help us, that doesn't change the fact that the comet will make Ozai more powerful than you can imagine. You don't _know_ what he's capable of the way I do. And when the comet comes, he'll be _unstoppable_."

"Not if he can't bend," interjected a timid voice from the stairwell.

All eyes snapped toward Ty Lee in alarm, wondering how long she'd even been standing there. Seeing the looks of distress on their faces, and the dark glower on Sokka's, she pointed meekly toward the black iron pot still sitting by the fountain.

"I forgot the water," she explained quietly.

No one said anything as she walked toward the fountain to collect the cooking pot. Sokka waited until just before she picked it to break the silence.

"What do you mean 'if he can't bend'?" he asked warily.

"You know," she shrugged, and demonstrated a few subdued one fingered punches, "just….block his chi."

"Are you volunteering?" inquired Zuko acerbically; his tone of voice indicating that there was no way he'd allow the girl to put herself into such a dangerous situation.

"No!" she emphatically replied, "No _way_! I mean, Azula can be scary sometimes, but your dad _terrifies_ me." She finished this last admission with an unrepressed shudder.

"But," she added, glancing uncertainly at Aang, "I could teach _him_ how to do it. He's probably the only one quick enough to get that close."

The Avatar straightened where he sat as he realized the implications of what she was offering. All eyes were focused on him now, awaiting his decision.

Truth be told, he was about as keen on this plan as Zuko was. Sokka had some crazy ideas in the past but this…this was _preposterous_! If they waited until the comet came and then _failed_…then what? All hope for the world would be _gone_! There would be _no_ second chances, and –

His train of thought was interrupted by the almost imperceptible sound of Toph drumming her fingers impatiently on the stone floor; he _felt_ it more than heard it. And it took Aang a moment to realize that she was doing so in perfect time to the panicked pace of his heartbeat. It had a strangely calming effect.

He took a deep breath and centered his thoughts. Didn't Bumi once say to think like a mad genius? And this idea was definitely out there. It was so completely outlandish and absurd that….it just might _work_.

After a few seconds, the relentless tapping began to soften and slow, finally stopping altogether as his heart returned to a steady rhythm. He rose to his feet with staff in hand, carrying a commanding presence that was oddly befitting the 12-year-old Avatar.

"If we're going to do this," he stated solemnly, "then we don't have much time. Sokka, do you have any idea how to get in touch with Commander Huo?"

The warrior frowned, rubbing his chin as he contemplated the question.

"Wait…Commander _who_?" interjected Ty Lee eagerly.

"Not 'Who'…_Huo_," corrected Sokka.

Ty Lee blinked with bewilderment, "Huh?"

"His name is Huo," the boy clarified distractedly.

"I meant, I…" she shook her head dismissively, "never mind."

"Do you know him?" asked Zuko.

"Yeah, he's my uncle," she shrugged.

Eyebrows quirked as Zuko and Sokka glanced at each other appraisingly. Surely, she couldn't be talking about the same-

"He and his son Renzu used to come to visit us every summer," she continued blithely.

Any doubt that Sokka might have had about whether or not they were talking about the same person was quickly eradicated, and he brightened visibly at the name of his friend. Sokka grabbed the acrobat by the wrist and started to pull her off toward the dorms.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?" she asked in confusion, but not resisting his lead.

"I need to write a letter and you're going to help me."

"But…what about breakfast?"

"Katara can take care of it," he said with a flippant wave, earning him a 'hrmph' and a glare from his sister.

The water bender didn't complain any further, however, and instead picked up the crock with a sigh and headed toward the kitchen, lost in her own fretful thoughts as she left the other three alone in the courtyard. For several moments, none of them said anything. Then Zuko finally crossed his arms over his chest and gave Aang a worried frown. But it was Toph who actually voiced the prince's concern.

"Are you _sure_ about this, Aang?"

"No," he replied honestly, "But I don't have many other options left, and I'm almost out of time. If the comet can give us the same edge as Ozai, but we can take away his advantage, then we just might stand a chance."

"Okay," she quipped with a shrug, seemingly unbothered by his candid anxiety, "as long as you're sure that's good enough for me."

With that, she wandered off to find something to keep herself occupied until the food was ready, leaving the two boys blinking after her in mystified wonder. Once she was gone, Aang let out a small sigh.

"I can do this," he murmured almost to himself, then looked worriedly up at Zuko, "…right?

Hearing the self-doubt in the boy's voice and seeing the wan hope on his young face, Prince Zuko's foreboding expression softened. No matter how difficult his own path may seem, he knew that Aang's was incalculably more daunting. So setting aside his own misgivings, Zuko placed a gentle, comforting hand on Aang's shoulder and smiled reassuringly into the young Avatar's troubled, questioning eyes.

"Yeah," Zuko replied with supportive resolve, "_we can_."

* * *


	6. 17:1 Something in the Way

**Fire Chapter 17: The Crags**

Segment 1: Something in the way

Three figures trudged wearily up the steep slope back to their hidden campsite in the rocky hills towering over the nearby port city. They'd left the Western Air Temple a few days ago in all haste to get a message to Huo and were now returning to the others with his reply.

Upon entering the camp, Ty Lee immediately plopped down next to Appa, with Sokka and Toph joining her tiredly.

"_That_ was a close call," remarked the acrobat with a nervous laugh.

"Tell me about it," agreed Toph, "but I gotta say, you did some pretty quick thinking there, Bendy."

"Yeah, brilliant," muttered Sokka sourly, taking off one of his shoes and inspecting the bottom of his foot were a tiny, purple bruise had formed.

He let out an affronted yelp when he saw it and stuck his foot straight out in front of him, wiggling it mere inches from Toph's face.

"Look at what you did to my foot! Just _look_ at it!"

"Oh _dear_," gasped the blind girl with feigned distress. "Gosh, that looks _awful_, Sokka."

Only Momo seemed the least bit interested in the boy's injury, and the little lemur examined it with a quizzical expression before giving it a perfunctory lick. Sokka's face fell into an irritated pout as he realized the futility of his complaint. Beside them, Ty Lee covered her mouth to stifle a giggle and hearing the sound, Sokka instead directed his sulking glare at Ty Lee.

"This is _your_ fault, you know," he snapped petulantly. "You're the one who told that recruiter guy I was a mental reject."

"Sorry!" she defended apologetically, "but since you obviously aren't missing a limb, it was the only other thing I could think of that would have kept you from being drafted."

"And," added Toph imperiously, "If you'd have just played along instead of trying to run your big mouth, I wouldn't have had to keep jabbing you with earth bending. Good thing he didn't notice _that_ or you'd have totally blown our cover."

"Yeah…well…you didn't have to jab so _hard_," he sulked.

It was about this time that Katara walked into the camp with newly filled canteens and noticed Momo 'tending to' the faint purple mark on her brother's heel.

"What happened to your foot?" she asked.

"It's a long story," he replied dolefully.

She was about to inquire further into the matter, but stopped as she spotted Aang and Zuko returning from their fire bending practice. They both looked tired, frustrated, and very upset. Neither of them said a word as they entered the area, and Aang merely picked up his glider staff before continuing right past them toward the nearby cliff-edge.

"I'll be back later," he informed the others tonelessly, and without waiting for any response, he lept from the edge and took off flying down into the labyrinthine gorge.

They watched him sail away, and then turned questioning gazes toward Zuko. But the prince only closed his eyes as he let out a defeated sigh, and then silently walked away toward the top of the ridge.

"What's wrong with them?" wondered Ty Lee timidly.

"I don't know," Katara replied with a worried frown. She set down the canteens and squared her shoulders with devoted resolve, heading off in the direction Zuko had gone.

"But I'm going to find out."

* * *

She found him on the other side of the peak, standing on a wide plateau jutting off the face of the mountain. He barely turned as he heard her footsteps behind him, and quickly returned his pensive gaze to the crisscrossing canyons below.

"I take it Aang's lesson didn't go so well today," she ventured quietly.

"Terrible," he confirmed.

Katara never got a chance to ask what had happened, for he launched into an animated and troubled rant, striding back and forth along the cliff edge as he spoke.

"I thought this would be _easy_ for him. He's mastered everything else so well!" Zuko paused and frowned as a thought occurred to him. "Maybe I'm just not explaining it right…"

"What are you trying to teach him?"

Lost in his own musings, Zuko didn't hear her question, but instead began reviewing inaudibly to himself the instructions he'd given Aang earlier. Katara could only barely make out bits and pieces of it as he paced.

"…Positive and negative…separate the energies…creates an imbalance…"

He stopped and turned toward the open canyon, then began going through the movements with a preoccupied frown. Katara's eyes widened when she saw golden light suddenly sparkle and sizzle at his fingertips, and she jumped backward with a gasp when a bolt of lightning raced across the ravine with a resounding crack. She continued to stare in silence as the echoes of the blast faded away.

"Why can't he _get_ this?" Zuko cried beseechingly to no one in particular, "What am I doing _wrong_?"

"You didn't show him that did you?" asked Katara in a tiny voice.

"Of course I _showed_ him!" the prince replied in exasperation, whirling around to face her, "How else am I supposed to-"

The words died in his throat the moment he saw the water bender's alarmed expression, and all the color drained from Zuko's face. As though watching the moment through her eyes, he could see Aang's scorched and battered body falling through the air in the catacombs beneath Ba Sing Se. Even though he'd fought alongside Azula that day, Zuko had still been horrified by his sister's brutal and merciless attack…the attack that had _killed_ Aang.

Overcome by this terrible realization and unable to bear the sight of Katara's shocked stare, he turned away with a helpless whisper.

"What have I done?"

He collapsed heavily into a sitting position as all the strength suddenly left his body.

"How could I be so _stupid_?!" he shouted, falling backward with his hands clutched to his head in anguish and frustration.

As the soft sound of feet crunching against the dirt drew nearer, he closed his eyes and tiredly let his arms flop spread-eagle to either side. When he opened them again, it was to the sight of Katara's anxious face gazing back down at him.

"I really messed this up didn't I?" he asked desolately from the ground.

She settled down beside him as she answered consolingly, "Everyone makes mistakes, Zuko."

"But why do mine always have to be so disastrous!" he exclaimed, sitting upright once more. Dropping his head into his hands, he lamented wretchedly, "No wonder he can't learn this. He's probably too terrified! What was I even thinking?"

Katara's heart felt close to breaking as the distraught prince turned to face her, regret and misery radiating clearly through his eyes as he plaintively sought her counsel.

"And what am I supposed to do now?"

She bit her lip thoughtfully as she wondered the same thing. At last, she sighed and offered what comfort she could.

"Aang is probably just really scared right now," she explained gently.

When he began to hang his head, she quickly put a firm hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look back at her as she continued earnestly.

"But he can't stay afraid of this forever. Eventually, he's going to have to get over his fear…and I _know_ you'll be able to help him do it.

"Aang _trusts_ you," she insisted.

He tried to turn his head away in shame at this statement, but she took him by the chin and gently forced him to look her in the eye as she finished meaningfully, "And so do _I_."

His first reaction was utter shock at the unexpected declaration. But as he continued to stare into her honest eyes, a familiar fluttering began to stir in Zuko's stomach. It wasn't the first time he'd felt it, and he'd noticed that it was happening with unusual frequency lately. But never before had it been so strongly pronounced…or as difficult to ignore.

And he was fairly certain that it had nothing to do with his concern for Aang, no matter how much we wanted to dismiss it as such. Yet despite the rather inappropriate timing, he couldn't deny that it was a very pleasant feeling.

As she began to pull her hand away, he suddenly didn't want to lose that physical connection with her, and he impulsively caught it both of his own. His mouth suddenly felt dry, and his voice was little more than a choked whisper.

"Thank you."

She smiled warmly in reply, and Zuko was surprised to discover that he wasn't even sure what he was thanking her _for_. His gratitude certainly went well beyond a simple appreciation for advice. And for so long he had craved her trust, fearing it had been lost forever by his selfish decision in Ba Sing Se. Katara couldn't possibly know how much her trust actually meant to him.

But even so, it wasn't just that. And he couldn't explain (even to himself) what exactly it _was_. All he knew was that, at that moment, he felt more alive than he ever had before.

He was so distracted by this baffling surge of emotions that he barely noticed when she slipped her hand from his and began to talk again.

"Come on, let's get Appa and see if we can find Aang," she was saying as she got to her feet.

Snapping out of his half-daze, Zuko nodded dumbly and began to stand up. Katara was already halfway back to the footpath leading over the ridge when she turned to look at him.

"You coming?" she asked, quirking her head with grin.

"Right behind you," he answered, and when her smile widened unreservedly his stomach did a full-on somersault.

He realized then that this sensation had _nothing _to do with Aang, or renewed trust, or any of the other reasons he might have come up with to explain it away. No, it was _definitely_ something else…and he was pretty sure it had _everything_ to do with Katara.

* * *

Twilight was approaching by the time Aang returned to the camp, and no one was there except for Toph. He landed a few feet away from where she was lounging comfortably on a boulder with Momo curled up on her lap. Whirling his glider shut, he looked around to notice that Appa was gone as well.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Out looking for you," she answered matter-of-factly, lazily stroking the sleeping lemur's ears.

It went without saying that Toph wouldn't have been much help in that endeavor, so he didn't bother asking why she'd stayed behind.

"Oh."

"She's worried sick about you, ya' know."

There was no need to question which 'she' Toph was referring to, and the offhanded way his blind friend made the remark caused his stomach to churn uneasily. In the back of his mind, he wondered if that was something Toph could sense through her earth bending. His curiosity turned to suspicion when she posed her next question.

"So do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really, no," he answered warily, fully expecting her to press the issue anyway.

But Toph only shrugged with disinterest. "Okay."

Aang cocked his head to one side, looking at her in bewilderment.

"You aren't going to make me tell you?"

"Do I _look_ like Sugar Queen?" she snorted.

Strangely puzzled by this odd rebuttal, Aang looked at his earth-bending teacher with a critical eye. Dirt clung in crusted layers to the edges of her shoes where the soles had been cut away. Her hair hung down over her pale eyes like a curtain over a clouded window, so he could never quite know exactly what she was thinking. And her clothes were slightly rumbled, being perhaps a size too large for her petit frame.

No, she definitely was _nothing_ like Katara. Katara was tall and elegant, with eyes bluer than a summer sky that expressed every emotion she was feeling. She was compassionate and beautiful and _everything_ Aang had ever wanted. And Toph was…well…_Toph_.

The two girls were nothing alike.

Aang shook his head with a small sigh and sat down. Momo, suddenly now awake and aware of his master's presence, hopped up to Aang's shoulder and nuzzled the air bender's cheek with a welcoming purr. He was still musing over the difference between his two female bending teachers when Toph's voice interrupted.

"Start a fire or something, Sparky," she ordered tartly with a slight shiver, "it's getting cold up here."

"What?...Oh!"

He lit the small campfire with a short distracted blast, and then glumly rested his chin in his hands as he stared at the dancing flames. Toph scooted closer to the warm blaze and held her hands and arms toward it appreciatively, letting out a contended sigh.

"Ah….much better."

The Avatar glanced over at his friend and frowned disconcertedly; she really _wasn't_ going to press the issue. And while he was sort of grateful for that, at the same time, he didn't want to sit there in complete silence either. Now that he thought about it, maybe he _did_ want to talk about what was bothering him.

What was it Roku had said? '_Search your heart; examine the feelings of your friends, your family.'_ Maybe Toph could offer some insight into his problem.

"Toph," he began uncertainly, "have you ever been in love?"

The girl grimaced in surprise, "What kind of question is _that_?"

"Just…curious," Aang shrugged uncomfortably.

If she picked up any tremor of dishonesty, she didn't mention it. Instead, her brows knit together, half-thoughtful, half-irritated.

"Well," she mused darkly, "it's not like I've had a whole lot of opportunities to meet people. You know, growing up locked away from the whole world and all. But even if that hadn't been the case, I'm twelve years old….what do _I_ know about _love_?"

Aang nodded broodingly, not even noticing the tight bitterness with which her last statement was made. Having received what he felt was a less than helpful answer, the Avatar didn't trouble Toph with any more questions, deciding to disregard the attempt completely.

So lost was he in his own misery, that the look of utter sadness that passed over Toph's features went unheeded and unseen.

* * *

Long shadows darkened the canyons as Appa wove through the narrow passes. Katara had long since gone hoarse from shouting Aang's name and she, like the others, had finally resigned herself to peering over the edge of the saddle for any sign of the Avatar.

"It's getting too dark to see," Sokka observed with a meaningful glance back at his sister.

She didn't answer, but continued raking her eyes over every nook, every hollow, and every crevice in the ravine. At the lack of her response, Sokka sighed.

"Katara…"

Sitting at the rear of the saddle, Zuko suddenly sat up straight as he spotted what he'd been looking for on the horizon.

"He's back at the camp," he called back to them.

"How do you know?" asked Ty Lee in bewilderment.

"Because," Zuko explained, "I banked the campfire before we left, and told Toph to have Aang light it if he returned before we did." He pointed toward the glimmer of light flickering in the distance behind them as he finished complacently, "And the fire is lit."

Katara crawled up alongside Zuko to gaze at the tiny beacon with him, letting out a sigh of relief as she did so. She rewarded the prince with a gentle hand on his arm, her voice resonating with gratitude.

"That was very clever, Zuko."

He merely smiled with contentment, and as Sokka steered them back the way they had come, Zuko decided that he was really beginning to enjoy that warm little flurry in his stomach.

* * *

It seemed Aang's queasiness had only just settled when it immediately kicked back up again at the sound of Appa's familiar low roar. The others were back. _Katara_ was back.

He was torn between wanting to see her and wanting to fly away again.

But even if he had decided to run, he'd have never gotten the chance, for she was out of the saddle and hurrying toward him before Appa had even completely landed. He stood up just in time to be engulfed in a fierce hug.

"You had me so worried," she whispered and she held him tight, feeling him relax into her embrace. "You must have been so frightened."

He pulled away slightly to look at her in confusion.

"Zuko told me what happened earlier," she confessed softly in his ear.

Upon hearing this, an inexplicable rush of anger and resentment swept over the Avatar. Zuko had just come up behind Katara, and was about to apologize for his earlier lapse of judgment when Aang shot a hateful glare toward the older fire bender. The prince halted immediately, hurt and mystified by the sudden coldness in his friend's eyes.

But before Zuko had a chance to recover from his shock and ask what was wrong, Sokka's voice broke through the tension of the moment.

"Hey, Aang, how about you give me hand with this thing?" he called, tugging on the large saddle in an attempt to remove if from the tired bison's back.

"Sure, Sokka" the boy replied coolly, and headed over to help, leaving Zuko and Katara staring after him in bewilderment.

From a short distance away, Ty Lee had watched the whole scene play out with a puzzled interest that only an unbiased outsider could possess. She was both intrigued and disturbed to note that Aang's normally bright aura had shifted dramatically in the short time since they had arrived. Warm yellow had faded to dark mustard before finally clouding to a muddy brown.

And that was where it stayed for the rest of the night.

**

* * *

**

**Author's notes:**

Thanks and congratulations go to Karalora, who gets to pick the next scene for me to illustrate from my story. Not only does she give a review on EVERY update, but she also manages to help me see my own work in a new light. Thank you, Karalora! I'll have your picture up as quickly as I can.

Of course, there is already a new image on my deviantArt page for those who may not have seen it yet. It's a scene from 'The Barrens' that I was simply compelled to draw for my own pleasure. Hopefully I did the scene justice, but I'll let you all be the judge of that.

Also, I want to apologize for the rather lengthy delay in getting this update posted. Hopefully the extra length (almost 3000 words, woo!) made up for the wait.

As for the developments in this chapter, and the concerns I'm sure some of you may have, I'd like to ask that you post questions that you want answered over in my forums so that I can respond to them publically and thus share any insight with others who may be wondering the same things.

Of course, good old-fashioned reviews are also (always!) welcome. :)


	7. 17:2 Learn As You Go

**Fire Chapter 17: The Crags**

Segment 2: Learn As You Go

Toph dipped her feet slowly into the cool water of the secluded, spring fed pool high in the rocky crags, wiggling her toes and relishing the feel of liquid swishing between them. Beside her on the wide slab of stone overhanging the water sat Zuko, legs folded into a meditative pose, thoughtfully watching Aang play in the water.

The young air bender was back in his usual good spirits, and for that, Zuko was very relieved. Katara had suggested the night before that they all take a day off from training, and while the Avatar had initially been opposed to the idea, he certainly wasn't complaining now. In fact, he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the break.

It was just the five them, Ty Lee having already left for town to send the last letter to Huo, surreptitiously confirming a rendezvous in three days to discuss further plans. Much to everyone's surprise, Sokka hadn't even protested her going there alone; but after his near re-enlistment the day before, no one gave the warrior much grief over his decision to stay behind. If anything, they were simply relieved that he had enough trust in their newest ally not to throw a fit about the necessity.

Naturally, Zuko couldn't show his face in public, while Toph flat out refused to go back into town, complaining that it was too much of a bore. And although it wasn't ever stated explicitly, everyone knew that Katara wasn't about to stray too far from Aang after the scare she'd had the previous day when he ran off.

So there they all were at the spring, Aang swimming circles around Katara who was lounging on an ice raft, Sokka trying unsuccessfully to catch a fish, while Toph and Zuko merely sat nearby, basking in the late morning sunlight.

"It's getting hot out here," Toph remarked loudly, brushing a bead of sweat from above her eyes.

"So come in the water," suggested Aang brightly. "It's nice and cool."

"I'll pass," she replied dryly.

Aang swam over to where she sat and put his hands across the top of her feet, causing her to jump back slightly at the unexpected touch.

"Come on. I promise you'll be fine."

"What are you doing?" she snapped, trying to pull her feet away from him, "Let go of my feet!"

"Just come in!" he pleaded, involuntarily tightening his grip as he tried to persuade her. "The water's not that deep!"

But Toph wasn't listening, and she continued to try and wrest her ankles from his grasp. Too late, Zuko noticed that her struggles were about to send her into the water, and she fell before he could make a grab for her.

"Toph!" he shouted as he dove toward the edge and falling short of his goal.

But Aang already had her, holding her head above the water as she violently flailed around in panic while the others looked on in helpless shock.

"Are you trying to _kill_ me?" she shrieked, frantically clinging to him with one hand even as she tried to beat him senseless with the other. "You know I can't swim!"

"I got you! It's okay!" he yelped, horrified at the unforeseen turn of events and shouting to be heard over the sound of her frightened cries and splashing water. He grappled for the wild hand that was trying to strike him and held it fast. "I'm sorry! Toph, stop thrashing!! It's okay! _Toph_!"

"What?!" she hollered back, stilling for just a moment since she could no longer hit him without letting go of the stranglehold she had on his neck.

"Put your feet down," he ordered with breathless exasperation, releasing her wrist.

With both arms now wrapped tightly around his neck, she cautiously did as he said. When her feet touched smooth stone, her eyes blinked rapidly in surprised comprehension and she finally let go of Aang.

"See?" he offered apologetically, "It's shallow, and the bottom is solid rock."

"Huh," she acknowledged with a petulant huff, "So it is."

Then her face took on a murderous scowl, and the next thing Aang knew, he was sailing across the pool to land on the other side with an enormous splash.

"Thanks, Twinkle Toes," she smirked, dropping the stone launch pad back into the ground beneath the water, "I feel _much_ better now."

"You sure you're okay?" asked Zuko skeptically from where he still knelt at the pool's edge.

She turned toward the sound of his voice and glowered tersely.

"Ask me again_ after_ I'm done drowning him."

The prince rocked back on his heels and smiled, assured by her typical asperity that no lasting harm had been done. But as he settled back into his meditative position, he kept a wary eye on her while she carefully explored her new surroundings, hands splayed across the surface of the water as if trying to sense vibrations through the liquid the way she could through stone.

He was about to call out a warning as she started to stray near Sokka's fishing line. But when the other boy saw her coming, he quickly removed it from the water and Zuko finally relaxed, closing his eyes to meditate in the sunshine.

"You know, I could probably teach you to swim," the warrior offered as she wandered nearer. Seeing the frown on Toph's face, Sokka hastened to add, "I mean…if you _want_. 'Cause, I just figured-"

Her unanticipated answer cut him short. "Fine."

Sokka blinked in surprise. "Really?"

She let out a short, almost defeated sounding breath before answering unenthusiastically.

"Yeah."

Grinning happily, Sokka took off his boots and shirt and hopped down into the water. He made sure to walk toward her, rather than actually swim, so that she would be able to 'see' him as he moved about.

"Okay," he said briskly as he arrived at her side, "before you can learn how to swim, you need to learn how to float. So, what I want you to do is, lay back in the water."

"Lay back in the water?" she repeated doubtfully.

"Yeah. Just pick your feet up and lean back, like you're going to lie down in bed."

Toph's forehead crinkled with uncertainty. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."

"Don't worry," he soothed, "I'll have a hold of you the whole time. I won't let you sink."

As a reinforcement of this promise, he put one hand on her back and the other on her arm. Steeling herself for the worst, she took a deep breath and lifted her feet from the reassuring firmness of the rocky bottom. A sudden rush of dread swept over her for the briefest of moments, but Sokka remained true to his word and quickly shifted to take hold of her legs, keeping her suspended in the water.

"You need to _breathe_, Toph," he said lightly, noticing that she wasn't.

The air whooshed out of her lungs in a nervous blast, and her body immediately started to drop.

"Not so fast! Just breathe slowly…nice and easy," he instructed calmly, holding her up until she regained her buoyancy.

Toph concentrated on breathing naturally, but it was difficult to do with her heart racing like a swift-footed rabbiroo. She was _really_ beginning to regret letting Sokka teach her to swim.

Having him so near, and with her in such a vulnerable state, left her feeling a whirlwind of different emotions that she'd rather not deal with right now. And Aang's question from the night before kept repeating inanely in her brain like an endless taunt.

Pushing the unsettling thoughts aside, she took another deep breath and let it out. _Slow and easy, Toph_, she told herself, _slow and easy._ A few moments later, Sokka's voice broke through her concentration.

"You're doing it!" he crowed.

"I am?" she wondered in bewilderment. Then Toph realized that she no longer felt Sokka's hands against her skin and she gasped in excitement, "I _am_!"

From their various places in and around the pool, the other three grinned at her success. All of them had stopped what they were doing to watch the lesson. Even Momo seemed be cheering her on as he flew in a circle above her, chattering and trilling merrily before finally zooming across the broad lagoon to land on Aang's shoulder.

"What do I do next?" Toph asked eagerly.

Staying nearby, Sokka resumed his teaching, guiding her with words and the occasional physical correction to her rather shaky and inexperienced movements.

"Kick gently with your feet- _gently, _gently! Good! Now, use your arms to paddle around….like this."

After a few more moments of instruction, Sokka stepped back and let her float off on her own, feeling very satisfied at the look of sheer joy on the young girl's face.

"I can't believe I'm actually _doing_ this!" she exclaimed in amazement, completely forgetting all her previous discomfiture regarding Sokka.

"You're doing great, Toph!" Aang chimed in just as she began to drift past him.

The nearness of his voice startled her (considering that the last time she 'saw' him, he was way on the other side of the spring) and a fit of fear seized her as she realized just how far she'd actually swum. Suddenly disoriented and afraid, her muscles locked up in alarm, causing her to plummet below the surface.

She thrashed her arms and legs, trying to resume her float to no avail. But just as her mouth filled with water and true panic set in, strong arms pulled her up, bringing her head back above the water and holding her tight in a secure embrace as she coughed and shuddered.

"I got ya, Toph," Aang consoled, "It's okay, I got ya."

Calming down at the sound of his voice and relieved to able to take in much needed gulps of pure air again, she dropped her feet once more to the solid comfort of stone and let out a jittery laugh.

"Thanks, Twinkle Toes," she gasped gratefully, flushing slightly in embarrassment at the rather graceless end to her first swimming lesson.

"I think that's probably enough for one day," Sokka said as he came up beside her. He draped an arm across her shoulders and gave an encouraging squeeze. "But you did great for your first time."

To her horror, Toph's blush only deepened at his familiar contact, and she quickly wriggled away, torn between wanting to run from him…or sink back into his arms. Frustrated with her own confusion, she opted for patting him awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Sokka."

"Are you okay, Toph?" called Katara as swam up. "What happened? You were doing so well."

"I don't know," the girl shrugged, "I guess I was just surprised. I didn't think I'd gone so far. It kind of freaked me out."

"Do you want to go sit down for a while?" pressed Katara worriedly.

"No, no. I'm fine," Toph insisted. "Really, I'm okay."

"So…what do you want to do now?" asked Aang.

"Well…" she drawled in a low voice, "it's occurred to me that _someone_ still isn't in the water having _fun_ with us."

The others turned to glance with sly, mischievous smiles at Zuko, who was still sitting on a rock at the other end of the wide pool.

After the minor disruption of Toph's abruptly ended lesson, the prince had settled back into his meditation, barely listening to the faint echoes of their voices bouncing off the high walls surrounding the secluded spring.

It took him a moment to notice that it had suddenly become _too_ quiet. And when he cracked one eye open to see if anything was amiss, it was to the sight of a huge wall of water bearing down on him. There was just enough time to yell before it split into two massive waves, wrapping around him from behind and dragging him head first into the water.

He came up sputtering and gasping, wiping at the long wet hair that was streaming into his eyes.

"Okay, that's _it,_" he fumed, glaring at the now giggling foursome surrounding him.

Steam rose from his shoulders as he took off his soaked shirt and hurled it onto the ledge he'd just been swept from, his eyes fixed angrily on the culprits. They quickly hushed, fearing that perhaps they'd gone too far. But the prince's scowl faded as a devious grin creeped across his face.

"You're all _toast_!" he laughed, and before they could react to his unexpected change in demeanor, he lunged toward Aang (who happened to be closest), and dunked him under the water.

The air bender came up sporting a wide grin as an all-out splash war ensued between the five friends.

"Get the fire bender!" Sokka shouted jokingly, cajoling the others to gang up on Zuko.

"No fair!" he protested good-naturedly as he tried to retaliate, "I'm not the only fire bender here, you know!"

Everyone stopped for a moment, looking to one another as they considered the truth of this statement. Aang's eyes widened innocently, and he backpedaled in alarm when they suddenly turned their splash attacks on _him_. But he yelled with delight while he fended them off.

They continued to take turns ganging up on one another as the sun climbed higher into the azure sky, looking down on their carefree play with warm approval. And the wretched war that had overrun and overshadowed these children's entire lives seemed, for a short but blessed time, already a thing of the distant past.

For _this_ is what _peace_ was like.

* * *

The heat of the early afternoon felt wonderful as the five teens lay head to head in a circle with a contentedly purring Momo at the center, lazily letting the sun dry the water from their clothes and hair. They had worn themselves out playing in the spring, and were now lying on the sparse grass nearby, feeling more relaxed and happy than they had in weeks.

"You know what I could go for right now?" Sokka announced lethargically.

"What?"

"Some blubbered seal jerky," he sighed.

Zuko let out a longing 'mmm' at the thought of food.

"That sounds…" he paused as his brain finally caught up with what Sokka had actually said. Zuko's face contorted with revulsion as he finished, "…_disgusting_!"

"Oh yeah?" replied the other teen, glancing back with affronted expression. "Well, what would _you_ rather have, _Your Highness_?"

The prince pondered this for a moment before answering decisively, "Candied lemon balls."

"Really?" chimed in Toph with an obvious note of disbelief.

"Yeah…" he replied as he closed his eyes and smiled, lost in fond memories of the flavor.

"Huh. I always thought that was more of an Earth Kingdom delicacy," she remarked.

"It is," he replied idly. "But Lu Ten used to send little bags of them back home to us when he was campaigning overseas. Azula hated them, so I always got her share. They were my favorite."

He opened his eyes again and glance over at her as he asked, "Do you like them?"

"Nah, too sour," she replied. "And they make my mouth all watery."

"So then, what _do_ wish you could have right now?" inquired Sokka.

"Actually, _tea_ would be nice."

Zuko groaned, "You're worse than Uncle!" Then, with curiosity, he asked, "What's your favorite?"

"Well," she replied reluctantly, "I'm probably going to regret admitting this but…I really liked that stuff Aang made…you know, with the cream and spices."

"You _liked_ the _chai_?" the air bender gasped. "Ha!" he continued smugly, "I _told_ you it was goo- O_w_!"

Aang rubbed the back of his head ruefully as the clod of earth Toph had jutted up underneath his skull receded back into the ground.

"So what's your favorite food, Aang?" Katara interjected smoothly before a scuffle could break out and ruin the peaceful mood.

Flashing one last glare in the earth bender's general direction on the opposite side of the circle from him, he contemplated his answer.

"I guess it would have to be Monk Gyatso's fruit custard rolls."

"Mmm…that sounds yummy," Katara reflected.

"They're the _best_," he insisted. "The outsides are thick and crusty, but the insides are filled with warm tart apples or plums or cherries."

Zuko raised his eyebrow. "Lemons?"

"Yeah," Aang chuckled and glanced to the prince on his left, "lemons too." He then turned to his right. "So, what about you, Katara; if you could have anything in the world to eat right now, what would it be?"

She'd been thinking about this since the conversation first started, but it still took her a moment to decide on the answer.

"If I could have anything in the world right now…it would have to be those little cakes we had at the Solstice Festival in Omashu."

"Eeeew!" Sokka squealed from beside her, "You actually _liked_ those?"

"Yes."

"How could you even _eat_ them? They burned my tongue they were so spicy!"

"Well, once you get over the initial shock, they're actually really sweet," she defended. "And I wish I knew what was that spice was. I've noticed it in a few other things we've eaten in the Fire Nation. I bet it would be great in those cookies Gran-Gran makes."

"Cinnamon," interrupted Zuko absently.

"What?"

"The spice," he clarified in a sleepy tone, "It's called cinnamon."

"I've never heard of it."

"I'm not surprised. It's native to the Fire Nation."

"Yeah," chimed in Aang, "we used take a bunch back to the temple with us whenever we visited here. It's really good in that _chai_ Toph likes so mu- _Ow_!"

Aang threw his youngest teacher another dirty look, but said nothing lest it get him yet another rock to the head.

"All this talk of food is really making me hungry," complained Sokka.

"Sokka, you're _always_ hungry," Zuko pointed out sardonically.

"And now I'm _extra_ hungry," he retorted.

"Well don't look at _me_," Katara warned tartly, "I'm too exhausted to cook anything right now. You'll just have to wait for Ty Lee."

"Don't worry," consoled Toph, hearing Sokka's disappointed sigh, "Bendy's on her way back now."

But a moment later, the blind earth bender sat up with a gasp, her voice taking on a tone of alarmed urgency.

"And someone's following her!"

**

* * *

**

**Author's note: S**orry for the rather cliffhanger-ish ending here, but that second segment has been written for a very long time, and I didn't feel like trying to redo it for the new format. It was originally meant to be the first commercial break of this 'episode'.

In all honesty, I almost went ahead and did this in the old format because so much if it is already finished (in my head if nothing else). But I'm sort of enjoying the longer chapters and the ability to group related scenes together to focus on specific themes. Plus, I doubt I'd have been able to keep the entire first segment here, since it's really too long for the standard 'episode'.

Anyway, I'm anxious to hear everyone's thoughts. This was a realatively uneventful chapter, and I'm worried that it might have been a bit boring.


	8. 17:3 Division of Loyalty

**Fire Chapter 17: The Crags**

Segment 3: Division of Loyalty

Renzu stared dully into the campfire, deciding that this had to be, without question, the single worst day of his life.

Avatar Aang and his bison were in chains. The young earth bender, Toph, was badly wounded. And Prince Zuko, along Sokka's sister, Katara, had been killed.

The only glimmer of light in this dark tunnel of calamity was that somewhere, Sokka was still out there. And Renzu hoped against hope that together they'd manage to get the get the Avatar, at least, out of this mess.

Glancing across the flames to where Ty Lee was trying to help ease the blind girl's pain, despite a grievous wound to her own leg, Renzu had to wonder again how in the name of all the Spirits his cousin had gotten mixed up in this. The last he'd heard from her, she was in the Earth kingdom, performing acrobatics for a traveling circus.

His brow furrowed in thought and he tuned out the idle conversation of his team as his mind replayed and tried to sort out the bizarre events of the day.

* * *

The port city of Gakemura throbbed with morning activity as Azula and her elite entourage made their way to the harbor where a ship waited to take them to the old Air Bender archipelago just a day's journey north of the city. She was certain the Avatar was hiding there and she intended to find him.

Renzu followed dutifully along, wishing he could think of a way to dissuade the princess's course of action. But he knew that any attempt to do so would be met with suspicion, and Azula was _not_ the sort of person he wanted to provoke. She was far too unpredictable; a fact that actually surprised him.

His cousin, Ty Lee, had often described her royal friend as being extremely poised, calm, and focused; the perfect princess in every way. Of course, they'd just been kids then.

Maybe things had changed.

He glanced sidelong at Azula walking a step ahead of him, and regarded her with a critical eye. For the most part, she appeared cool-headed and in control. But upon closer observation, he spotted the nervous way her gaze kept twitching to one side, as if trying to spot someone following her.

And every time she did so, he could clearly see the dark rings hanging beneath her lower lashes, and that several locks of her hair seemed to have been dodging the bristles of a brush for days. A faint clicking sound brought his attention to her hands, where he noticed that three of the meticulously manicured fingernails on her left hand had been bitten down to nubs; the remaining two, on her thumb and pinky, were methodically being flicked against one other.

Apparently, things had changed _lot_…and none of it was good.

Lost in these musings, he almost didn't see the flash of pink in the crowd ahead of him, and he very nearly mistook the familiar bouncing braid as a figment of his imagination, brought on by his own pensive reminiscing. But as the girl turned her head to look at something across the street, giving him a clear view of her profile, he knew beyond a doubt that it was Ty Lee.

He practically bumped right into Azula, who was suddenly rooted in place and staring at the same girl that had caught his attention. The princess looked as though she'd just seen a ghost; her face was pale, and her breathing was coming in short, ragged bursts. Even her voice sounded strained.

"Do you see her?" she whispered urgently, "That girl there in the pink?"

"Yes, Highness," he answered hesitantly.

He was about to mention that he _knew_ Ty Lee, that they were actually related, but the strange wave of relief that flooded Azula's countenance stopped him. Her expression then turned ghastly cold, and keeping her gaze on Ty Lee, she gripped Renzu's shoulder tight enough to pinch right through his armor.

"I want you and your men to follow her," she instructed sternly, "but stay out of sight. I want to know where she goes."

Renzu nodded curtly, "Yes, Princess."

With a snap of his fingers, he waved his hand in a silent command to his men to disperse among the crowd and carry out Azula's orders. Taking one last glance at the princess, he followed after them. He couldn't be certain, because he was already out of earshot, but he could swear that she was talking to someone.

But no one else was there.

* * *

The attack took him and his men completely by surprise.

One minute, they were trailing Ty Lee through the high crags, and the next, the earth had erupted around them, dividing his forces and cutting him off from any means of escape. Then the Avatar and his friends were bearing down on them, all four elements barraging Renzu's team with vicious fury.

But his men, being well trained and experts in their given fields recovered and responded with equal ferocity. Within seconds, the tide of battle drastically turned in their favor.

Had they been pitted against any other opponent, Renzu would have been proud of them.

A series of blasts from munitions expert Lo-Khi separated Prince Zuko, Sokka, and Katara from the others, obscuring them all from sight. Meanwhile Yutaka, the elite team's Yu Yan archer, had effectively immobilized Toph with an arrow through the shoulder.

Distracted by the fall of his earth-bending teacher, the Avatar was left vulnerable to a brutal assault from Shek's urumi, the razor-sharp, whip-like blade only barely dodged by the nimble boy. But Yutaka quickly put an end to that as well, firing off several well-placed arrows and pinning Aang to the ground just before Ty Lee paralyzed the archer with a few well-placed jabs of her own.

But although she was quick, Ty Lee was still unable to avoid the long reach of the urumi, and a lacerating lash to the leg brought her down as well. And when Appa belatedly showed up to join the fray, it took only a single volley of Shirshu spit darts to neutralize the threat.

And with that, the battle was over.

Lo-Khi came trotting back alone from his encounter with Zuko and Katara, his expression grim.

"Report?" asked Renzu perfunctorily.

"Prince Zuko and the water bender fell from the cliff, Sir," he answered shortly, "They're dead."

Renzu tried to keep the horror from his voice as he responded, "You're _certain_?"

"Yes, Sir."

A short distance behind Lo-Khi, hidden among the rocks, Renzu spotted the shocked face of Sokka. He could only guess that the water tribesman had been knocked unconscious by the initial blast, and thrown far enough from the fight to escape anyone else's notice, reviving only after it was too late.

As the two boys locked gazes, Renzu watched Sokka's distress turned to rage, and he knew that his friend was about to launch an attack…a futile one at this point. Keeping his eyes fixed meaningfully on the other teen, Renzu spoke up loudly and firmly, hoping that Sokka would get the message.

"Then that's _all_ of them. Good work, men."

Much to Renzu's relief, Sokka apparently understood, for he slipped quietly back behind the rocks to bide his time. Repressing a sigh of relief, the young commander then turned to assess the condition of his captives. He frowned with displeasure when he saw the severity of Toph's wound and shot a disapproving scowl at a Yutaka, now recovering from his skirmish with Ty Lee.

"You have standing orders not to kill or injure," he berated harshly.

"She stepped into the shot, Sir," replied the other teen coolly, "It was unavoidable."

From his position nearby, Renzu alone heard the girl hiss through teeth gritted against the pain.

"_Liar_," she growled.

Renzu's scowl deepened, but he said nothing. He knew which of the two to believe, but that wasn't knowledge he could share, so he had no choice but to let the matter drop.

* * *

The official reason they stopped for the night, was that the crags were too dangerous an area to traverse in the dark. Fortunately, no one questioned Renzu's judgment. It was difficult enough trying to haul an unconscious bison down the steep mountain passes and they had spent most of the afternoon just trying to figure out how to _do_ it. Had they been trying to go _up_, the task would surely have been impossible.

But Renzu had insisted they not leave the beast behind. The longer it took for them to return to Azula, the more time he had to formulate a plan for their escape. He'd more or less worked out all the details by the time they set up camp.

A simple tincture in the food of his comrades would ensure they slept very soundly throughout the night, and Renzu made sure that he took the first watch. His team suspected nothing, and before long, their loud, drugged snores were reverberating through the camp.

Now he just had to wait for Sokka. But in the meantime, he wanted _answers_.

* * *

Ty Lee gently tucked a sweat dampened lock of hair behind Toph's ear, marveling not for the first time at how tough the little girl was. Despite her wound, and the tragic events of the day, the blind earth bender had maintained her gruff, no-nonsense attitude, in turn lending Ty Lee some of that inner strength.

Caring for Toph had allowed her a point of focus, something to distract her from the tragedy of the day. But now that blind girl was asleep, Ty Lee's mind finally had time to process all that had happened.

Zuko and Katara were gone. It seemed so surreal, so unbelievable, that she couldn't quite bring herself to admit that it was true. Zuko had been like a brother to her, and Katara, oddly enough, had helped fill the void of Mai's loss.

For the first time that day, tears threatened in her eyes as she began unwillingly to accept the truth.

A stirring to her right brought her back from the brink of tears, and she looked up to see Renzu settling down beside her, a cup of tea held out to her.

"How is she?" he asked, nodding his head toward Toph.

"Resting now," Ty Lee answered. "I blocked off her shoulder to lessen the pain. It was the only thing I could think of to help."

"And your leg?"

"It hurts," she smiled weakly, "but I'll live."

An awkward silence settled between them, as they gazed thoughtfully at the pale and listless earth bender, then to the young Avatar, bound and sleeping nearby. Renzu's voice suddenly broke the stillness.

"Ty Lee, what is going on?" he demanded in a bewildered tone, "Why did Azula have me follow you? I thought you two were friends. And how is that I find you traveling with the Avatar?"

The acrobat sighed sadly and shook her head, not sure how to answer or where to begin. She was well aware of the position her cousin was in. Sokka had explained that much before they'd even left the temple.

And she had heard Renzu's promise to Aang earlier that day, assuring the Avatar that he would get them out this mess, no matter the consequences. But knowing exactly what penalty he would likely face, she couldn't bring herself to add her own plight to his burden.

"It's…a long story. And the less you know about it, the better off you are."

Renzu opened his mouth to protest, but a rustle in the darkness just beyond the camp stopped him. It could only be one person.

"Sokka? Is that you?"

He got his answer when his friend stepped out from behind a low bush.

"Yeah, it's me," the boy replied dully, his head bowed.

"What took you so long? Are you okay?"

"I was looking for…I wanted to see it with my own eyes," Sokka whispered brokenly. He raised his head, and in the firelight, Renzu could see the tracks of dried tears on his dark cheeks. "But I couldn't find them."

Renzu sighed and hung his head. There was nothing he could do; no words of comfort he could offer that would lessen this grief. The only thing they could do now was take what opportunity they had, and get the Avatar out of here.

"We don't have much time," Renzu stated quietly, "Appa should be okay to fly now; the darts should have worn off hours ago. I just need help getting him untied."

In short order, they had released the bison, and then turned their attention toward getting Aang unbound. Sokka frowned when he noticed how completely unresponsive the boy was. He didn't even wake up.

"What wrong with him?" wondered the warrior fretfully.

"He's been like that since we were captured," Ty Lee explained forlornly as she limped over. "He hasn't said a word, and went to sleep as soon as we made camp. I think he may be in shock." She choked back a small sob as she added, "I can't say that I blame him."

She watched as Sokka shook his head, obviously refraining from saying something, and then he hefted the boy onto one shoulder to carry him up Appa's tail. Renzu came up beside Ty Lee and offered his arm so he could help her into the saddle as well. A moment later, Sokka came back down and picked up Toph.

As he shifted her gently against his chest, trying to be extra careful of her wounded shoulder, she let out a small gasp of pain and he winced. When her fingers wrapped around a fistful of his tunic, he was certain she was bout to yell at him for reviving her pain. But instead, he was surprised to hear a characteristically acerbic mumble.

"Took you long enough to get here," she chided.

"Sorry," he murmured in reply, a bittersweet smile on his lips despite the gravity of the circumstances.

Setting her down as carefully as possible, Sokka followed Renzu back to the ground, a strained silence hovering between them. Then the fire nation commander stooped to pick up a large stone and offered it to his water tribe ally.

"Make it convincing," was all he said, and he turned his back on the other boy, sitting down a short distance from the campfire.

Sokka glanced down at the rock, and then at Renzu's head, heaving a miserable sigh at what he knew must be done. At that moment, his heart felt heavier than the stone he was forced to use to knock his friend unconscious.

As Sokka made his way across the saddle to the reigns, Toph reached out and grabbed for his leg, falling a bit short but getting his attention nonetheless. Seeing her face pinched and pale, he quickly knelt down beside her. Ty Lee hobble-crawled over as well, preparing to put another nerve pinch on the girl to lessen the pain. But Toph waved the acrobat away.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked anxiously.

In answer, she gripped his shoulder tightly, and he could see that she was trying to concentrate enough through the foggy haze of pain to speak clearly.

"We have to find Zuko and Katara," she gasped. "They might be hurt."

"Toph…" he began tentatively, anguish welling up in this throat as he forced the words from his lips, "There's nothing we can do for them. Lo-Khi's report…he said…"

"I know what he _said_, Sokka," she snapped irritably.

Now he stared at the blind girl in dumb confusion. Maybe she was in shock, like Aang. He watched her take several pained gasps, tightening her hold on his arm until it throbbed beneath her iron fingers. At last, her voice rasped out between clenched teeth.

"But I also know he _lied_."

* * *

**Author's note:** Okay, this was a little different from the usual and I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the result. Originally, this was the big fight scene of the episode, but I just didn't like how it played out blow-by-blow considering the way the rest of the story is formatted into vignettes. So I opted for the flashback approach. Hopefully it didn't turn out too dull for everyone. Please let me know if it did.

Anyway, just to make a few announcements: The image created for Karalora is now up on my deviantArt page for those of you who are interested. I also have a few good stories to recommend.

**I Told You So **by **CelestialWonder**: a series of one-shot/vignettes set after 'The Boiling Rock'. There are only two so far, but they are hilarious. Maybe with some encouragement (reviews!) she'll add some more.

**In His Shoes **by **AvocadoLove**: Another story with only a couple of chapters, but it has a VERY promising start. A new twist on the 'switched body' plot, this is shaping up to be a must read for anyone who's a fan of Sokka / Zuko stories.

**Fuzzytomato** also has a new Sokka/Zuko/Toph friendship fic called **Bound and Determined,** but she hasn't updated it in a while. So maybe if enough people go and pester her with a review, she'll put another chapter up. –grins-

I'd also like to thank and welcome three new readers: story teller, avatarfan, and MarielleAster. I'm glad you are enjoying the story and I hope to hear more from you!

And with that, it's my turn to go read **MacFie's** TWO newest chapters to **Clasp**! Woohoo!

**EDIT 6-13-08 **

**I'd like to again ask that people please DO NOT post canon spoilers in your reviews. **As crazy as it sounds, there ARE folks out there that have not read the 'Sozin's Comet' book, or seen any of the episodes past 'The Day of Black Sun'. So please show them some courtesy and leave any remarks about what really happens in the show out of your comments. Thank you.


	9. 17:4 Cliffhangers

**Fire Chapter 17: The Crags**

Segment 4: Cliffhangers

If Zuko didn't know better, he'd almost think that the munitions expert they were pitted against was missing them on purpose. He almost seemed to be driving the three of them, blast by blast, away from the others. But there wasn't time to reflect on why, for at that moment, Sokka inadvertently stepped into the blast radius of a recently dropped explosive, and the boy was flung back several yards where he landed with a sickening thud.

"Sokka!"

With a furious yell, the prince hurled barrage after blazing barrage of searing flames at the armored solider, finally landing a vicious blow directly to the chest, and sending him crashing to the ground. Were it not for the fire resistant armor he wore (a must-have for his profession), the teen would have surely been fried to a crisp.

His adversary down, Zuko hurried over to his friend's side and, fearing the worst, he anxiously turned the boy over. A pained groan drifted up from the fallen body and hearing it, the prince let out a short sigh of relief. Sokka was alive.

In his concern for the water tribe warrior, Zuko didn't notice the munitions specialist climb to his feet. The bomber glanced behind him at the dissipating wall of smoke and reached for another grenade.

Fortunately, Katara had Zuko's back, and before the soldier could lob his missile, she slapped it free of his hand with one well-aimed water whip before sweeping his feet out from under him with another. The small grenade sailed overhead, falling into the canyon behind her, and detonating with a deafening bang just as it passed the lip of the ridge.

Zuko turned toward the sound of the blast, and he saw Katara's eyes grow wide with alarm as the entire area shuddered underneath her. Without further warning, the ground fell away into the ravine, leaving her scrambling for a tangle of twisted roots and grainy soil as the rest of her dangled over the edge.

"Katara!" he gasped, seeing the water bender's plight.

Without a second thought, he abandoned Sokka and raced for the edge, diving headfirst and grabbing the girl by the forearms just as her fingers slipped from the crumbling earth. Somewhere in the distance, he dimly heard Aang's panicked voice shouting Toph's name.

"I got you, Katara," Zuko panted, "just hang on."

"I'm hanging," she whimpered breathlessly back.

Gritting his teeth, he began to pull her up to safety, but immediately stopped when an ominous rumbling erupted around him, vibrating along the length of his sprawled body. The two locked gazes with knowing dread in their eyes, and an instant later, a resounding crack sent them both hurtling down the side of the ravine as the entire shaky platform disintegrated beneath them.

Thankfully, they didn't fall very far, coming to rest on a wide outcropping created by the initial blast. But they hit hard enough to knock the wind completely out of them, and Zuko's head bounced against the stone just before they were both buried beneath a cascade of loamy earth from the top of the ridge. Zuko groggily shook the loose dirt from his hair and then turned his attention to Katara, who was stirring faintly.

Looking up to assess their situation, Zuko froze at the blurred sight of the munitions expert staring down at them from above. All it would take was one well-timed grenade to send them to their deaths. The prince stared grimly up at his opponent, trying to keep his wavering vision from fading, and waited for the inevitable.

But no bomb came.

Instead, the masked teen turned from the edge and walked away, leaving Zuko staring at the empty ridge in bleary astonishment. He clung uncertainly to consciousness a moment longer before another small landslide buried him in darkness.

* * *

When Zuko came to, the sky was a deep shade of purple, with only a lingering red glow on the western horizon. Broken roots and clods of soil slid off him as he pushed himself out of the rubble. A small movement beside him brought his mind back into focus, and he quickly crawled through the loose dirt over to Katara.

"Are you alright?" he asked fretfully, helping to dig her out of the loam.

"Yeah," she answered, thankfully accepting his assistance as he pulled her free.

The two of them stood, and Katara looked up at the ridge, the gears of her mind already whirring as she calculated the distance from the top.

"Here, boost me up," she suggested quickly, "I think I can reach it."

He followed her gaze to the ledge and shook his head doubtfully. "Katara, I'm not so sure that ledge will hold-"

"We don't have time to argue, Zuko," she snapped, "now boost me up!"

Setting aside his misgivings, he knelt down so she could climb onto his shoulders, and then slowly stood, lifting her up. Clumps of grime clinging to wispy roots fluttered onto his face as she clawed at the side of the cliff, trying to get her fingers past the edge of ridge.

"Almost….have it…" she muttered, straining on her tiptoes to reach that last inch.

Suddenly, the loose soil shifted under Zuko's feet, and he called a desperate warning to Katara to alert her of the danger. But it was already too late. The softened pile of earth and rock gave way, pitching Zuko backward just as Katara clutched at the unstable ledge, the dirt sifting through her fingers as they toppled down.

Zuko's trajectory sent Katara even further out and she sailed right by the ledge. Panicked, Zuko snatched her wrist just as it passed. The sudden transfer of weight on the already volatile shelf snapped the supporting stone underneath, swinging the platform down like a trap door and sending them sliding right off. Once again, the two found themselves careening down the side of the steep crag.

Zuko frantically scrambled for purchase with his free hand as they slid along the almost vertical incline, his fingers finally latching on to the ledge of a small recess in the cliff-face. Their descent abruptly halted, and they dangled there for a moment as a shower of rocky debris fell past them into the gorge.

With great effort, he hauled Katara up by the wrist until she could reach the handhold as well. Once he was certain that she had a firm grip, he dug his feet against the stone and climbed past her into the tiny crevice. Then he turned and pulled her up, tightly holding her flush against him as the remaining ledge high above from which they had just fallen thundered by them down the wall of the canyon.

They didn't move for several long minutes, too terrified from their near fatal plummet, and fearful that the small, sheltered protrusion that held them might give way at any moment. When the last echoes of clattering stone died off, and their flustered heartbeats began to slow to a manageable pace, Katara finally spoke up.

"Okay," she gasped, still trying to get a grip on her breathing, "whose…brilliant idea…was that anyway?"

Zuko took a few steadying breaths before glaring down at her as he replied sardonically, "_Yours_."

"Oh…right," she winced, a sheepish apology in her voice. "That was a pretty stupid plan, wasn't it?"

"No," the prince sighed, reassuring her gently with a brief hug, and feeling grateful that they'd both survived the attempt, "it was worth a try."

"So what do we do now?" asked Katara forlornly.

Zuko relaxed his embrace and leaned forward to glance apprehensively past Katara at the darkened canyon, first down into the void below, and then up. Much to his dismay, the top of the ridge was completely obscured from view.

He then turned his gaze to what he could see of the sky. The moon would not rise for a few hours yet, and even then, it would still be dangerously dark. If the others were to have any chance of finding them in one piece, then they had best stay put for now.

"We wait until morning," Zuko answered at last. "Maybe the light of day will show us a safer way out."

He leaned back into the crevice, keeping a secure hold on Katara as he settled her alongside him in as comfortable and safe a position as they could manage. She was practically in his lap, but there was nothing to be done for it.

"In the meantime," he concluded wearily, "we should try to rest."

* * *

Resting, as it turned out, was much easier said than done. It wasn't just that they were wedged into the tight cleft with their feet dangling out over a bottomless drop. The setting sun had taken not only their light, but their source of heat as well. And the wind had picked up considerably, carrying with it the chill of the night air.

Katara shifted next to Zuko, pressing herself closer against his chest as a shudder ran down her spine.

"Are you cold?" he asked in a slightly bantering voice, hoping to lighten the mood somewhat. Things were stressful enough without being morbid about the situation.

"It's freezing out here."

"And this from the girl who grew up in the South Pole," he pointed out wryly. "I'm surprised you're not _used_ to it."

She glanced up at him with an irritated frown. "I had more _layers_ there, Zuko."

"Oh," he conceded with a sarcastic tone, "so I suppose I need to go find you some 'layers' then?"

"No," she quipped peevishly, "I'm just going to borrow one of _yours_."

With that, she slid her arm into the front opening of his shirt, using use the fabric as a barrier against the brisk wind on her exposed skin. He shook his head indulgently; if she didn't feel awkward about it, neither would he. At least she wasn't freaking out at the prospect of being near him...unlike the last time she'd gotten cold.

But as her fingers brushed against the sensitive flesh along his ribs, he involuntarily jerked and tried to fidget away from her touch (as minutely as possible so as not to jostle them both out of the fissure and into the ravine), while stoically trying to bite back the giggle that threatened to erupt from his lips. There was only one place that the Fire Prince was ticklish, and Katara had just inadvertently _found_ it.

"Careful!" he gasped, not wanting to give away his weakness.

Alarmed by his unexpected reaction, Katara immediately became concerned.

"Are you hurt?" she asked worriedly, and began probing the area with her fingers. This, of course, only made things worse for Zuko.

"No," he insisted breathlessly, losing the battle against his laughter as she continued to poke and prod at his vulnerable ribs, "I'm fine, really! Just…ha-ha! S_top_!"

It was the laugh that halted her, and she pulled back as much as their cramped quarters would allow, staring at him in wide-eyed shock as comprehension set in. Seeing the realization on her face, Zuko scowled.

"What?"

"You're _ticklish_," she declared incredulously.

Zuko had half a mind to nudge _her_ in the ribs and see how _she_ would fare, but he thought better of it considering their hazardous location. Of all the times, all the places she could have possibly made such a discovery, she had to make it _here_ where he couldn't even retaliate. At least no one _else_ was around to have seen it.

"So?" he grumbled petulantly, "lots of people are ticklish."

"I know," she replied quickly, feeling a bit guilty at the sight of his obvious embarrassment, "I just...well I never thought you'd be one of them." Then she giggled in spite of herself as she asked slyly, "So does anyone else know?"

"No," he stated firmly, "and I'd like to _keep_ it that way."

Still smiling, she tucked her arm back into his tunic, but this time she waited until her hand was safely past his ribs before relaxing against him for warmth.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she promised, the ghost of her amusement still lingering in her voice.

The biting breeze continued to whistle through the nook, prompting another shiver from Katara, and Zuko wrapped his arms around her in an effort to shelter her skin from the cold air.

It really _was_ frigid at this high altitude, and it had to be more so for her since the shirt she wore only barely covered her midriff. Her pants likewise came just to her shins, and unlike him, she wasn't wearing any shoes. There had been no time to put them on when they rushed to help Ty Lee.

Reaching down, he gathered her ankles together and pulled her feet up under his knee to give them some protection as well. He then concentrated on his breathing, raising his body temperature slightly to share what heat he could, and he knew it was helping when she let out a relieved sigh, snuggling deeper into his chest.

He let out a slow breath of his own. Under any other circumstances, he might _almost_ find their close proximity _sort_ of….

Oh who was he _kidding_? Despite the fact that they were mere inches from a fathomless drop, and she was only in his lap because there was no place else for her to be and she was trying to stay warm, having Katara curled up in his arms, without animosity, or apprehension, or even awkwardness, was beyond nice. It felt _wonderful_.

He found himself wishing he'd someday have an opportunity to get used to this. Although with his luck, it would probably send everyone they knew (and plenty of people that they didn't) into an uproar.

"You know," mused Katara drowsily, breaking Zuko from his thoughts, "Under any other circumstances this would be practically scandalous."

Zuko couldn't help but chuckle at the remark, since his own mind had just been mulling almost that exact same thing.

"It probably is anyway," he replied lightly. "Are you sure you'll be able to live with yourself after this?"

"Hrm, that depends," she teased back with a yawn, "will you still love me in the morning?"

In the vast silence that followed, and with her head pressed so closely against Zuko's chest, the prince's heart suddenly seemed unnaturally loud in Katara's ear. She began to regret her jibe, fearing that perhaps she'd taken the jest too far. But just as she was about to apologize, Zuko's quiet voice hummed through the tiny crevice.

"Much longer than that."

Now it was Katara's heart that seemed to roar too loudly and quickly in her ears, and for reasons she couldn't explain, she found that she was having a hard time breathing properly.

"Zuko," she murmured uncertainly, "I was only joking."

Fearful of what she might find, she nonetheless tilted her head up to look at his face, only to see him smirking down at her.

"I know."

She quickly ducked her head back down to hide the faint rush of color rising to her cheeks. Of _course_ he was only kidding; really she should have _known_ that. But still, this realization left her feeling all at once both relieved…and strangely disappointed, although she couldn't pinpoint why, or which of the two reactions was stronger.

Ultimately, she decided that she was just too tired to try and sort it out, and a few moments later, she finally succumbed to the relaxing warmth of Zuko's fire bending enhanced body heat, and the weariness that so often comes after one has spent hours running on nothing but pure adrenaline. She was soon fast asleep.

Zuko waited until her breathing evened out into a slow, steady rhythm before risking a glance down at the girl cradled in his arms, and he tenderly freed a stray lock of hair from her eyelashes. Letting out a long sigh, he bent his head over hers until his lips brushed the top of her scalp, whispering a silent, pained confession into her dark tresses.

"But I _wasn't_.

* * *

**Author's note:** As much as I enjoyed writing this chapter, I admit that I am VERY apprehensive about posting it. I know there a number of people out there that absolutely despise this pairing, while others simply adore it. So I would be deeply grateful for some honest reactions from BOTH groups.

Please remember that I don't personally ship, and as such, I'm sort of floundering in the dark here on how to approach this stuff. I have my reasons for these developments (which will all be made clear soon enough), but at the same time, I don't want to turn off any readers because of them. I know I've already lost a bunch of people because of shipping (or lack thereof), and I'd rather not lose any more.

So please, _please_, share your thoughts…good or bad, I want to know.

In the meantime, I want to welcome a few new names I noticed in last chapter's reviews: Bluetiger, CelestialWonder, Efflorescent, Gothic-Cherry-Blossom, random reader from Falkland, and Rava77. Thank you all for adding your input! It's greatly appreciated.

Heartfelt thanks also go to Azamiko, Karalora, and MacFie for leaving a review on _every single one_ of the last TWENTY-TWO chapters (that's every update since I changed from the 'episode' format to the abridged version). You guys are the best! -hugs!-


	10. 17:5 Search Party

**Author's Note:** Before I get started, I just want to explain that this chapter was not originally planned as part of the abridged series. However, these scenes were conceived for the episode, and still bumbling around my brain in little bits and pieces.

So when several people remarked that they wanted to see how the other's reacted to Zuko and Katara's circumstances, I decided to go ahead and post it despite it being a bit short and not completely in the same theme as the rest of the abridged set. But hopefully it fits the bill for those who were curious.

Enjoy!

**

* * *

**

Fire Chapter 17: The Crags

Segment 5: Search Party

They flew back to the site of the attack with all haste. Aang still refused to wake up, but Sokka was content to let him sleep for now. Better to let the boy remain oblivious than to get his hopes up needlessly should Toph be proven wrong.

When they landed, Sokka turned to the blind earth bender.

"Where do I go from here?"

"Get me to the ground," she instructed grimly.

He hurried over to help her up, but as she struggled to her feet, she let out a short yell of pain.

"Wait!" she gasped, sitting back down and tentatively shifting the sling on her arm, "Ty Lee…could you…?"

"Of course," the other girl replied quickly, and scooted over to deliver two short, precise jabs.

"Aaaah!" Toph sighed dramatically, visibly relaxing as the pain in her shoulder receded. "I never thought I'd be so _happy_ to have you do one of those voodoo pokes on me."

Ty Lee caught herself midway through a smile and instead sent a guilty glance at Sokka to find him staring at her with an unreadable expression. She wondered fretfully if this would constitute a breaking of the promise she'd made never to use her chi blocking pinches on anyone in the group.

But Sokka calmly held her gaze as he said meaningfully, "For once, I'm glad she can too."

This time, Ty Lee _did _smile. And Sokka returned it briefly before helping Toph out of the saddle and down to the ground.

The moment Toph's feet touched the solid stone, her brow furrowed in confusion. She'd spent the better part of the afternoon monitoring the spot where Zuko and Katara had fallen to. While Renzu was stalling his team with instructions to devise a way to get Appa back to town, Toph had stayed focused on her fallen friends' heartbeats, waiting anxiously for them to stir. So she was certain she knew exactly where to find them.

But they weren't there anymore.

Quelling the rising panic in her chest, she knelt and placed her hand on the ground, taking slow deep breaths as she sought into the earth for any shudder, any murmur, any tremor of activity that might lead her to them. Sifting past the extraneous vibrations of burrowing insects and slumbering prickle-snakes, she felt deeper into the rock, seeking….searching.

There!

It was faint, but steady. A heartbeat. Zukos! And mingled in with it…

"They're below us," she finally declared, "_Far_ below us. But they're alive."

Sokka let out a sigh of relief, and then looked toward the edge of the ridge, his head quickly scanning along both directions of its length in the moonlight.

"Which way?"

She pointed to area directly above where she sensed them, and then rose to her feet.

"Can you bring them up?" asked Sokka.

"No," she replied objectively, "even if I weren't injured, it would be too risky. That whole side of the cliff is unstable. We'll have to fly down to get them."

Sokka nodded curtly and took Toph by the hand to help her back onto Appa.

"Then let's go."

* * *

"You dunderhead," Toph scolded as she leaned out over Appa's side, Sokka holding tightly to her waist as she touched the face of the cliff. "You flew right past them! We need to go back up."

"It's kinda dark out here, Toph," he defended sardonically, "I can't exactly _see_ much."

He pulled her back into the saddle as she replied, "Then try looking for a big crack in the canyon wall, they're asleep inside that."

"Can't you wake up Aang?" he suggested. "He could use his fire bending to give us some light."

"I've _tried_," she insisted, throwing up her good hand with dour frustration, "but he's completely catatonic!"

Sokka sighed as he glanced over to where Aang and Ty Lee both were fast asleep. He considered waking _her_ at least to have a second set of eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. She was hurt and tired, yet had still managed to care for the two youngest members of the group all afternoon and evening. He figured she deserved some rest.

Going over to Aang, Sokka shook the boy roughly to try and wake him.

"Come on, Aang" he pleaded forcefully, "I need you to help me find Katara."

The air bender barely stirred, letting out a small groan, and whispering in despair, "It's too late. I failed. She's gone…"

"No, Aang! She's alive!" insisted Sokka, shaking the Avatar even harder, but with no response.

"Forget it, Sokka," Toph insisted wearily. "We don't have time for this. Just fly back up…slowly."

"Wait, I have one more idea," he stated.

Sokka crawled over to the corner of the saddle where Momo slept, gently prodding the little lemur awake before picking him up and holding him at arms length.

"Momo," he instructed seriously, "I need you fly up above us, find Zuko and Katara, and then come back here and show me where they are."

The lemur merely blinked twice then trilled sleepily in reply, eliciting a frustrated sigh from Sokka.

"Come on Momo, you're my last chance here."

"Sokka…" Toph interrupted warningly, "wasting _time_…."

"Fine," muttered the disgruntled warrior, setting the smallest of their troupe back down, and frowning as the creature promptly curled back up and went to sleep.

"But Aang is _so_ going to get when he finally wakes up."

* * *

When Sokka at last spotted the booted foot above him, dangling out into the canyon from the side of the rocky wall, he understood why he had missed it before. Were it not for bright light of the now high moon shining across the face of the cliff, he probably wouldn't have noticed them this time either. He slowed Appa's ascent as he drew even with the crevice and peered inside.

Sure enough, there was his sister, curled up in a little ball with her hand disappearing all the way up to the elbow into the folds of Zuko's shirt as if it was a blanket, and she was sitting halfway on top of a terribly uncomfortable looking prince. He had one arm resting at an odd angle across Katara's shoulder, with the other wedged against the side of the indentation, his hand still holding onto her ankles, which were tucked up under the crook of one of his knees, his head resting forward on top hers.

They were both sound asleep.

"Well, don't you two look cozy," drawled Sokka cheerfully.

The unexpected voice pulled Katara from her hazy dreams, and she shifted slightly in confusion.

"Sokka?" she mumbled, raising her head toward the sound and opening her eyes. They widened abruptly as she gasped, "Sokka!"

Her joyful cry woke Zuko as well, and when he caught sight of Appa hovering in the ravine with all their companions, his whole face lit up with relief.

"Boy, am I glad to see _you_," the prince declared earnestly.

By now, Appa was butted up flush against the rocky wall, and Sokka was already reaching out to help his sister climb into the safety of the saddle. Zuko followed somewhat stiffly after her, his legs burning as the circulation returned to them. He collapsed in the center of the saddle and sprawled with a happy sigh, relishing the sensation of being able to stretch his limbs.

"Bit cramped there were you?" teased Sokka.

A short laugh was Zuko's only reply.

* * *

Katara healed Toph and Ty Lee as they flew to a safe location where they could rest for the night. By the time they arrived at a suitable campsite, only Sokka and Zuko were awake, and they carefully carried the others one by one down from Appa's saddle, tucking them into their bedrolls while they slept, before turning in themselves.

A few hours later, Aang stirred in his sleep, groaning forlornly and thrashing in his blankets, waking Katara who lay nearby. Going over to him, she stroked his hair gently in an attempt to soothe him.

"Shh, it's okay, Aang," she consoled, "I'm right here."

"Katara?" he murmured almost deliriously, "I failed. I'm sorry."

"You didn't fail, Aang," she insisted quietly, "Everyone's safe. We're all okay."

She continued offering words of hushed comfort, until her steady voice finally permeated his troubled dreams, and he opened his eyes blearily. Then he blinked, not believing what he saw.

"Katara!" he cried, jolting upright and throwing his arms around her in a desperate hug, which she quickly returned.

"Katara," he murmured again, wet tracks streaming down his cheeks as he buried his face in her neck. "I thought I'd lost you. I thought I had failed."

"I'm right here, Aang. I'm okay," she repeated tenderly as she rocked him gently, letting him cry out his fear and anguish and joy in her arms.

Momentarily awakened by the disturbance across from him, Zuko couldn't help but smile softly as he lay there and watched their tearful but happy reunion. Then his eyes drifted shut once more and he sank back into blissful slumber, all the while wholeheartedly agreeing with Katara's whispered assurances.

"_Everything is fine now_."

* * *

**Author's note (2):** See, I told you it was kind of short, but I hope everyone liked it just the same.

There is a new sketch over on my deviantArt page for anyone who wants to get a clearer image of what Sokka saw when he finally found Zuko and Katara. It was really only drawn as a crutch for when i wrote the last chapter, so it's not colored, but I'm still rather pleased with how it turned out.

I really want to thank the overwhelming number of you who offered your input last chapter. I don't think I've had 40+ reviews on a single post in almost 13 updates. Thank you _all_ so much!

And special thanks go to new reviewers Amara-chan, daveshan, Hanjeu, Kaiya, samanthe2121, yurtletheturtle (who isn't exactly a new reviewer but i haven't heard from her in a _long_ time), and especially _liham_ and _hypergrl92_ who, despite admitting an _extreme_ dislike for the Zuko/Katara pairing, told me they still enjoy this story and are willing to see it through to the end. You guys have NO idea how much that means to me.

Thank you.


	11. 17:6 Inner Turmoil

**Fire Chapter 17: The Crags**

Segment 6: Inner Turmoil

"So…are we going to work on lightning again?" asked Aang casually as he and Zuko made their way to a secluded area some distance from the camp. They would be leaving the crags tomorrow and wouldn't be able to train again for a few days while they traveled.

"Actually, I had something else in mind," answered Zuko hesitantly. "Something my uncle taught me when I was having trouble learning to create lightning. I think it will help you too."

"And what is that?"

Zuko stopped and looked around at the sheltered canyon. Deciding this was a good spot, he turned back to Aang as he replied.

"It's a technique that will allow you to _redirect_ lightning."

Aang's eyes went wide with amazement. "It can be _redirected_?"

Zuko nodded solemnly in reply, all the while maintaining constant eye contact with the Avatar, seeking any hint of fear or concern. But instead, the boy's expression took on that mischievous glint of determination that the prince had learned to recognize as a willingness to learn.

"Show me."

Relaxing somewhat at Aang's lack of apprehension, Zuko began his lesson, watching the air bender's face carefully in order to spot any change in his optimistic attitude. The last thing Zuko wanted to do was scare him again.

"Well, the first thing you need to remember is that lightning is merely a form of energy. It's powerful, and…dangerous," he paused for a moment before adding meaningfully, "but it's not _malicious_. Do you understand?"

Aang's head bobbed up and down in affirmative, his expression still eager for more information. Reassured by this, Zuko continued.

"Because it _is_ only energy, you can channel it through your chi pathways, just like any other form of fire." Zuko took up the stance his uncle had taught him and demonstrated the motions as he spoke, "It comes in through the hand, through the arm into the stomach, and then to the other arm and out the hand again. It's _vital _that you send it through the stomach, and not the heart."

"What happens if it goes through the heart?" Aang wondered guilelessly.

Zuko stood up straight again, dumfounded. It was a very good question…and unfortunately, the answer would probably be counter productive to keeping Aang calm about dealing with lightning. He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Um…Uncle didn't really say," he half-lied. Actually, Iroh _had_, but he hadn't _elaborated_, so it was still technically the truth. Then dropping his arm, Zuko added more assertively, "but I'm certain it wouldn't be good, so just make sure it goes through the stomach, okay?"

"Okay."

"Now, I want you to practice the motion I just showed you, so you can get a feel for the flow of energy through your body."

Aang did as his teacher instructed, and Zuko performed the maneuver along with him. It certainly couldn't hurt for him to practice this some more as well.

"Good," he praised, seeing Aang accomplish it perfectly. "Now keep doing that. And try to feel the energy moving along the pathway…in the arm…through the stomach…and out the other arm."

They both repeated the motion again and again. But midway through the third time, Aang looked at Zuko with one eyebrow cocked quizzically.

"Why does this feel like a water bending move?"

Zuko grinned broadly at Aang's perception. He was definitely one smart kid.

"Because that's where my uncle got the idea," he divulged proudly as they started another repeat. "He once told me that it was wise to study the other bending disciplines; that knowing them could improve one's bending."

"Is that why yours is so different?"

The prince paused for only a moment and he looked at Aang questioningly before resuming the maneuver again.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, the stuff you teach me," explained Aang as his arms moved in tandem with Zuko's, "it's nothing like the way you fight…or even the way you _used_ to fight. It's different now because you incorporate other bending styles, isn't it?"

Once again pleased by his pupil's astute observations, Zuko smiled as he answered, "Yeah, it is."

"Okay," announced Aang as he finished another flawless repeat of his exercise and stood upright again, "I think I'm ready to try it now."

"Try what?" Zuko blinked in confusion.

"Redirecting lighting! I'm ready to try it."

"What? No!" replied Zuko, suddenly flustered, "that…that's not the _point_ of this."

"Well then how else am I supposed to practice it?" demanded Aang with growing frustration.

"You don't!" insisted the exasperated prince, "You remember the lesson, memorize the technique, and then _hope_ you never have to _use_ it!"

Aang fixed his friend with a knowing, sardonic glare.

"Zuko, I think it's already been proven that I'm _going_ to have to use this," he pointed out dryly.

Letting out an aggravated sigh, Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose where he felt a monster of a headache beginning to bloom.

"Aang," he began with forced patience, his fingers still hovering between his brows, "I am _not_ going to shoot lightning at you. It's far too-"

He suddenly stopped, lifting his gaze to meet Aang's with a growing sense of confused apprehension writhing in his gut. The Avatar looked back at him expectantly, his eyes showing not the slightest trace of misgiving about what he was asking Zuko to do.

"You're not afraid of the lightning, are you?" marveled Zuko in bewilderment.

Aang shook his head briskly, not seeming the least bit taken aback by his sifu's alarm. Meanwhile, Zuko could only stare at the boy in shock, the gears of his mind reeling as he tried to make sense of the situation.

Katara's suggestion that fear was keeping Aang from creating lightning had seemed so logical. After all, who wouldn't be traumatized by such an experience? But here was Aang insisting that he wasn't scared, was actually _wanting_ Zuko to fire off a bolt at him so he could practice redirecting it!

Remembering the reasons that he himself had been unable to learn this so many months ago, Zuko's eyes narrowed suspiciously, and he fixed a steady, probing gaze on his young friend. Something…some unresolved internal conflict was keeping Aang from doing this. The prince had been certain after his conversation with Katara that it was merely fear. But if Aang wasn't _afraid_ of the lightning, then…

"Then why can't you _create_ it?"

"I don't know," Aang shrugged innocently.

With a ponderous frown, Zuko turned and took a few steps away to a nearby boulder, facing his student once more as he half-sat, halt-leaned against it and indicated to Aang that he should sit as well. The boy settled himself on the ground while Zuko collected his thoughts.

"When I first attempted to create lightning, I couldn't do it," Zuko explained quietly. "It kept…backfiring on me. I understood the principle, but I just…couldn't make it work. Uncle finally told me that I wouldn't be able to master it until I dealt with my inner turmoil."

"What does inner turmoil have to do with lightning?" interjected Aang.

"I didn't understand at the time either," confided Zuko ruefully, "but I do now."

Aang waited patiently for Zuko to elaborate, and when he did, the Avatar could hear both the regret and the _acceptance_ in the prince's voice.

"You asked me once if I believed in my quest to capture you. I _didn't_. But when I was banished, I was told to return with the Avatar in chains, or not at all. I wanted to go home; to have my honor and my birthright restored. I wanted…"

Zuko stopped abruptly and let out a short breath, closing his eyes as he prepared to say for the first time aloud what he had never admitted even to himself.

"I wanted Ozai to love me the way a father is _supposed_ to love his son."

There was a long silence as Aang studied his friend sympathetically. He was fairly certain that Zuko had never shared this with anyone before. And while he already knew about the history of the prince's scarring and exile, it made the moment no less poignant to hear Zuko actually _talk_ about it.

"So I did what he expected of me…even though I knew it was _wrong_," Zuko continued somberly. "Deep down, I was ashamed of who I was…what I had _become_. And because of that, I couldn't create lightning until I found peace within myself. I had to let go my desire to please my father, and do what I knew was _right_ instead."

Aang frowned pensively as these words sank in, his forehead creasing through the pale blue arrow. When he spoke, his voice was at once both fearful and guilty.

"So…you're saying that the reason I can't make lightning is…because I have inner _turmoil_."

"It might not even be something you're fully aware of," Zuko tried to console quickly, "I mean, it took me a long time to figure all this out for myself. But Uncle was right. Once I did, I was able to master lightning. We just need to find out what's bothering _you_."

Looking away from Zuko's earnest and compassionate gaze, Aang hung his head as he realized the grim truth of his predicament. He knew that Zuko's determination to help would eventually bring the problem to light, so maybe it was best just to tell him now…

"But we'll sort it out, Aang, I promise…"

"Actually, I already know what it is" Aang stated quietly, "It's the same thing that's keeping me from entering the Avatar State."

Any surprise Zuko felt at this admission was quickly overshadowed by the growing sense of dread that suddenly gripped his heart when Aang lifted his head once more, showing the prince with startling clarity the overwhelming anguish reflected in the boy's eyes. And it was a tormented voice that answered Zuko's unspoken question.

"_It's Katara_."

* * *

Hours later, Zuko remained wide-awake, listening to the soft sounds of the others sleeping nearby as he reflected on the troubling secret that had been entrusted to him.

Aang had told him _everything_: about the guru, and the chakras, and Avatar Roku's advice. He revealed the feelings he had for Katara, and railed about his confusion on why loving her could be wrong. He had practically poured his twelve-year-old heart out to the stunned and increasingly dismayed prince.

And when he was finished, the Avatar turned with hopeful eyes to his older friend and confidant, waiting for words of wisdom in the gathering twilight.

But Zuko didn't have a _clue_ about where to begin. He was no expert on _love_. This was _completely_ outside his realm of knowledge.

So he had decided it best to get the facts of the situation first, starting with the most pressing question in his own mind…

* * *

"Does she know?" he asked awkwardly, "How you feel about her, I mean."

Aang shook his head with a sad sigh, "No. Every time I try to tell her, it just…comes out _wrong_. If it comes out at all," he added dolefully.

Zuko ran a hand through his hair as he considered this. He could _definitely_ relate. He didn't have the courage to tell Katara how _he_ felt, so it came as no surprise that Aang hadn't managed it either. Although, to his credit, Aang had at least _tried_, which was more than could be said for a certain prince.

But Zuko wasn't _even_ going to divulge _that_ piece of information to Aang. It would surely only make matters worse if the kid knew he wasn't the only one who felt this way about Katara. He might perceive the situation as having competition for her affections, and Zuko definitely didn't want something like that to come between them.

"What am I supposed to do?" bemoaned Aang, interrupting Zuko's thoughts.

"I don't know, Aang," Zuko had replied helplessly, feeling like he had to be the single worst, most inexperienced person to be coming to with this problem, and would have been even if he _didn't_ have feelings for the same girl. "Have you tried asking Sokka? Maybe he-"

"I don't think Sokka knows half as much as he _thinks_ he does," Aang interjected in a tone of voice that clearly indicated that yes, as a matter of fact he _had_ tried asking Sokka, and it hadn't helped one bit.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," muttered Zuko under his breath.

Before anything else could be said, another voice drifted toward them on the wind.

"Aang? Zuko?"

At the sound of Katara's call, Aang looked with suddenly panicked eyes at Zuko. He gripped the elder boy by the arm so tightly it almost hurt.

"You won't tell her about this will you?" he pleaded.

"Of course not."

"Or any of the others?" he pressed urgently.

"You have my _word,_" Zuko promised earnestly, "I won't say a thing."

Aang released his hold on Zuko and stepped back with a relieved smile just as Katara rounded the corner.

"There you are. Were you guys planning on practicing all night or something?" she chided, waving a hand to indicate the darkening sky.

"We were just finishing up," Zuko replied.

"Well then, you two better come eat before Sokka gets it all," she advised.

With that, she began to return to camp. When she was out of earshot, Aang turned back to his mentor.

"Thanks, Zuko," he said meaningfully, "For _everything_."

The prince forced a weak smile even though his heart was aching for Aang…and for _himself_.

"Any time, Buddy."

* * *

The rest of the evening had passed without incident, and Aang seemed to be in particularly bright spirits. Apparently, telling Zuko about his inner conflict had gotten some of the weight of the problem off of his chest at the very least.

And it had been put right on to Zuko's instead.

He heaved a long sigh before pulling his gaze from the moon and settling it on Aang's sleeping form on the other side of the dwindling campfire. And there, resting peacefully beside the young Avatar was the girl they both loved.

Zuko watched impassively as she hitched her blankets up against the biting wind until they covered her nose. With a pang, he realized that he wouldn't be keeping her warm again anytime soon….more like _ever,_ no matter how much he might _want_ to. Because now that he knew how the Avatar, _his best friend_, felt about her, Zuko couldn't…_wouldn't_…do that. Not to Aang. _Never_ to Aang.

But how was he supposed to help Aang resolve his feelings for Katara when he couldn't even figure out how to do it for _himself_?

Closing his eyes, Zuko let his head roll tiredly back on the pillow so that when he opened them, he was once again staring at the crescent moon above. He wished his uncle were here. The old general, with all his wisdom and experience, would know what to do, Zuko was certain of that.

"What am I supposed to _do_, Uncle?" he whispered despondently into the darkness, as if imploring the moon, the stars, anything that might be out there, for assistance.

"_What am I supposed to do?"_

**

* * *

**

**Author's note: **And now you finally have the conclusion to 'The Crags'. This was originally going to be the chapter after 'Cliffhangers', but I'm very glad I went ahead and posted 'Search Party', since it sort of fills in the blanks without me having to do a bunch of 'summary' paragraphs. I know how much you guys dislike those, so I am trying to keep them to a minimum.

Of course, the previous update feels like a better ending than this one, and I half considered using this one as the opening chapter for 18 instead. But this was how the episode was _meant _to end, so I left here.

I hope it doesn't seem too out of place.

**The rest of this author's note **is in response to avatarfan (anon), who recently pointed out that I have a total of over 2900 reviews to this collection of stories. I was very touched by the sweet sentiment of this review, but it also got me to thinking.

I know that it's easy to look at the number of reviews I've received over the course of this series and think "Wow! She's so popular, how can she possibly not realize that?" But what most people don't understand is that when I read my reviews I don't see numbers…I see _names_.

About 375 of them actually, well, give or take a few dozen anonymous readers who may or may not have used the same name from one review to the next. And of those 375 names, I've not seen 220 of them over 6 months. Approximately 120 of _those_ haven't been heard from in almost _a year_.

In fact, right now, only 23 of the people who have been reviewing since near the beginning, and 18 who joined in about 10 episodes ago, still currently review on a regular basis.

And I know them each by _name_.

These scant 40 people, plus about 30 more that have long since stopped responding to this series, make up over 2200 of the approximately 2900 accumulated reviews that I have.

And while I delight in and deeply appreciate those 40 people, it's tempered by the loss of the once vocal ones I no longer hear from, and whose absence is deeply felt. People like AssaultSloth, Nafien, GEMouse (anon), KASLiNN, LavenderSkies, soupcan, Animefreak99-06, zaz (anon), Blooappall, FireChildSlytherin5, SaKaMo (anon), Sazzlysarah, NotReallyHere (anon), PaddysGal, Me (anon), JackieK (anon), valjean (anon), whatsername911, come-by-chance, Shadowsole, rutger5000, JessicaDanielle, Artemis (anon), Veglma, Dreamer of Universes, bhut, RainoftheFirenation, lw (anon), ehsurewhatever, taffy0823, The Poisoned Doughnut Of DOOM and most recently RueBroadway.

Of these, I only know the reasons behind three of them leaving.

One simply didn't like the new format. They found it difficult to follow and not as interesting as the original episode style.

Another expressed such an extreme dislike for the possibility of a relationship between Zuko and Katara that he removed me from his favorite authors list and hasn't reviewed since.

And the other says they simply went off do their own original stories and that it had nothing to do with my writing or me. Although I can't help but wonder why, if this is the case, they took the time and effort to remove me (but not other fan-authors) from ALL of their alerts and favorites. Needless to say, I still feel like I did something wrong.

As for the rest, I don't know _why_ they stopped reviewing…I only know that they _did_.

So I'm afraid I can't pat myself on the back too much for having close to 3000 reviews. It's not that I don't feel grateful for that number, because I _do_…but I also know _whom_ they came from. And there really aren't as many as people may think.

And there are even fewer of them now than there once was.

Therefore, I'd like to take a moment to offer my most heartfelt gratitude to MacFie, Steamboat Ghost, Azamiko, avatar/kingdom hearts lover (anon), Kryspix, scarlet dreamer (anon), Dan (anon), fuzzytomato, Gibsonmar, kitkat1327, Karalora, Lucrezia6565, mystery writer5775, SarahE7191, Time and Fate, Cows are my friends, OveractiveImagination39, Anawey, fleagirl125, JESUSFREAK-And-Proud-Of-It, zutarakid50, Avatargirl92, Nandireya, Aurinos, n3rdchik, NullChronicler, yurtletheturtle, Lady Charity, dead2self, Katterrena, Nev/Wormtail, nightdrive23, Not so Blind Mieko, The Zutara Critic, Kirihana, Maze2010, TiffanyV, S (anon), tege (anon), Kamalia, and Katako-Chan.

I hope everyone reading this understands and appreciates the fact that, were it not for your consistent and _continued_ support (1274 reviews worth!), this series of mine would have been abandoned a _long_ time ago.

Thank you.

Now this note isn't here to make anyone feel guilty for not reviewing, nor am I complaining about the reviews (or reviewers) I have, or begging for anyone else to review. I just want everyone to understand where I am coming from in those times when I ask for input from a larger cross-section of readers. I still get about 300 hits per update….but only hear from about 40 people with any regularity.

Your thoughts, your reactions, your critiques are an important part of what I do. You, _the readers_, are my drive, my confidence, my guide, and ultimately my only reason for even writing this series.

So to those of you who have ever left even a single review at some point throughout this series, and have offered words of encouragement, support, and yes, even criticism, please know that I _value_ and take to heart _every_ comment…

…and that I remember _your_ names as well.

**Speaking of names**, there were a couple new ones on the last update who I'd like to welcome and thank; Alfsigr and LockHimInACage.

Oh! And, **liham**, I hope this chapter sheds at least a little light on the question you asked. If not, then I think that perhaps some of the later developments will. I don't want to say any more than that though or else I might spoil what's yet to come. ;)

Thanks again for reading, everyone. :)


	12. 18:1 Slipping Away

**Fire Chapter 18: The Gloaming**

Segment 1: Slipping Away

Renzu sat at the small iron desk in his cabin, tiredly going over the tedious paperwork that was part of his duties as an officer in command: a formal report detailing the events of the previous day…not a word of which was true. He'd convinced his team to keep quiet about their run-in with the Avatar, grimly reminding them of the punishment they would receive should the princess learn of their failure.

The fact that she said not a word when they'd returned without knowledge of their quarry's whereabouts had been unsettling enough to sway them to his line of reasoning. Azula was becoming frighteningly erratic, going from serene to violent in the blink of an eye with no known source of provocation. Her anger in this situation had been completely expected….which made her silence all the more terrifying.

So no one offered any protest when she gave the helmsman orders to set a course for the Air Bender archipelago, and Renzu had some small assurance that by tomorrow morning, the Avatar and his remaining friends would be safely on their way to…wherever they were headed. Away from Azula at the very least, and that was all that mattered.

Heaving a weary sigh filled with sadness over yesterday's agonizing loss, Renzu rolled up the finished document and stuffed it in a scroll case, pushing it to the side of the desk as he leaned back in his chair. He spared a glance toward the horizontal slit that served as his window and discovered to his dismay that it was almost dark. That stupid report had taken him almost the entire day to concoct.

A knock at the door interrupted his just-forming thoughts of dinner, and he barked irritably at what he knew would be a delay to his meal.

"Enter!"

He was somewhat surprised to see Lo'Khi saunter in and close the door behind him.

"I'm leaving," the munitions expert declared without preamble.

Renzu blinked at the suddenness of the statement, thinking that surely he must be more tired than he realized and therefore had simply misheard his comrade.

"Leaving," he repeated dumbly. Lo'Khi nodded, prompting Renzu to question further, "What do you mean, _leaving_?"

"Just that," the other teen replied evenly, "I'm leaving. I'm resigning my commission."

"Lo'Khi," Renzu paused and shook his head in confusion, still trying to process the conversation, "you can't _resign…_that's called_ deserting._"

"Okay then," he conceded with an unconcerned shrug, "I'm _deserting_."

Raising a hand to his forehead, Renzu rubbed it in an unconscious gesture reminiscent of his father when he was struggling to keep his composure.

"You mean you came all the way up here to tell me, _your commanding officer_, that you plan on _deserting_ the military?" he asked in a barely controlled voice. "Lo'Khi, I should be dragging you to the brig right now to have you locked away for the rest of your _life_!"

"But you won't," he responded coolly.

"And what makes you think _that_?" Renzu inquired, fixing the other boy with a hard stare.

Lo'Khi crossed his arms complacently before answering meaningfully, "Because I know that _Lee_ is still alive…"

Renzu practically reeled backward in his seat as though he'd been struck by a physical blow, and his eyes flitted guiltily to the sealed scroll he'd just finished. He was still collecting his wits when Lo'Khi dropped another surprise.

"And so is Prince Zuko."

At this, Renzu gasped audibly, his head snapping back up to meet Lo'Khi's eyes. He was so busy staring at his friend in shock that he didn't even register the subtle movement of him pulling something from his sleeve until he set his hand down on the desk with a resounding 'clink', immediately followed by the sound of ceramic sliding forward across the polished metal. Lo'Khi drew his hand back as Renzu's stunned gaze settled on the tiny object in front of him.

"What is this?" he asked, picking it up. He tilted it back and forth in his hand and regarded the intricately painted Pai Sho tile with bewilderment as Lo'Khi replied somberly.

"It's an _invitation_."

* * *

Azula stormed down the ship's narrow corridors, Yutaka and Shek riding closely on her sharply ringing heels with another four soldiers following behind. Here and there, a door would swing open to reveal curious faces…all of which quickly ducked behind the safety of closed metal upon spotting the princess's furious approach.

No one dared get in her way.

A resounding clang thundered through the entire deck as the door to Renzu's cabin nearly flew from its hinges and Azula strode into the room with wrath burning in her eyes. The traitorous commander was going to pay dearly for his lies and she scanned the cabin for the target of her rage.

There was no one there.

Seething, she placed her hands on the tidy desk, taking in several quick deep breaths to calm herself enough to give an order to those still loyal.

"Search the ship," she commanded through gritted teeth, "I want him found immediate-"

"Commander!" a voice intruded, then seeing the occupant of the room was not whom he expected, he quickly bowed. "Princess," he corrected, "one of the excursion boats is missing from the launch bay. The guard on duty says he was struck from behind. When he awoke, the boat and his assailants were gone."

A low chuckle meandered lazily through the room, but only Azula heard it.

"When?" growled the princess.

"At least an hour or more, Highness," he answered apologetically. "There's no sign of them."

Azula was now shuddering with anger as the low, mocking laugh continued, this time from right in front of her.

"They just keep slipping through your fingers, don't they?" drawled Mai, idly twirling a short-bladed dagger around one finger as she reclined comfortably in the chair on the other side of the desk from Azula.

The princess shot the apparition a hateful glare, her hands trembling as she bit back a bitter retort. By now, she knew that no one else could see or hear the girl, who seemed to make her presence known to Azula only at the most inappropriate times, and it took increasingly greater effort to refrain from railing at her deceased friend. Azula still wasn't certain if she was being haunted or simply going mad, but either way, she knew that Mai wasn't really there. Yet no amount of will power or logic would make her go away.

"What are your orders, Princess?" asked the young messenger hesitantly.

"Yeah, what you are going to do now?" teased Mai languidly.

Taking a deep breath, Azula pushed herself upright from the desk with some difficulty, her arms still shaking as she began to wring her hands together. At last, she balled her hands into fists and forced them down to her sides.

"Tell the helmsman to adjust our heading," Azula snapped curtly, "We're returning to the capital."

Then she turned her cold glare on the two informants who had finally confessed what had really happened the day before.

"As for _these_ two" she continued icily, "…lock them in the brig. My father will deal with their treachery when we arrive back at the palace."

Startled, the two boys gaped and stuttered in protest, but the accompanying guards were not about to disobey a direct order from the Fire Lord's daughter, and they quickly dragged the struggling offenders away from the cabin, leaving Azula alone with a hallucination she refused to look at.

"You're losing your touch, Azula," Mai observed dryly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" the princess asked, keeping her eyes focused on the door.

"Do you really think _daddy_ is going to let them take _all_ the blame?"

A short pause, then, "Shut up."

"Why didn't _you_ go after Ty Lee?"

"Leave me alone," Azula spat.

"Didn't think a burning net would scare her into submission this time?" Mai pressed sardonically, oblivious to Azula's tremulous rage, the hands curling into and out of raggedly clawed fists. "Maybe you should have just shot a bolt of lightning at her. That would have gotten her attention. It certainly got mine…"

Unable to hold her temper any longer, Azula spun on her heel with a vicious shout, launching a wave of flames at her tormenter and obliterating the neat stacks of papers and brushes on the desk an azure inferno. As the blaze died, the princess glared with pointless triumph, inanely thinking that Mai's specter would be somehow cowed by the burning rebuttal. But she was abruptly disappointed.

The chair was empty.

**

* * *

**

**Author's note:**

Another shortish chapter this time, and unfortunately, most of the segments for this 'episode' won't be much longer. BUT, the good news is:

This 'episode' will be the last of the 'abridged' stories.

That's right, for the finale (Fire Chapters 19 & 20) I will be returning to my original 'episode' format. Of course, I probably won't have it finished before the _real_ series finale airs, but I'll do my best.

And I want to thank _all_ the people who reviewed last chapter. It really made my day to see how many people are enjoying this story. But i was especially pleased to see SaKaMo, magical-mystery-girl, Me, come-by-chance, Artemis, Veglma, Shadowsole, and Swishy Willow Wand again. You guys have no idea how overjoyed I was to know you are still reading.

I was also very happy to see some more _new_ names: arizony, Becka-boo, J. Idanian, Mellyna, MyUnchainedMelody, and Terra Young.

And yes, I _do_ notice when unregistered reviewers (anonymous) use the same name each time, and it really is very helpful for keeping track of who is who. So to those of you who always sign with the same name, thank you.


	13. 18:2 Share and Share Alike

**Fire Chapter 18: The Gloaming**

Segment 2: Share and Share Alike

Aang paced silently down the darkened corridor, aimlessly wandering as though in a daze. Time and distance seemed to have no meaning in this place; there was only solitude. It felt familiar, and yet he was certain he had never been here before.

As near as he could tell, he was deep underground, even though there was no outward indication that this was the case. It was merely dark. He could be in any building, anywhere in the world. But he knew, inexplicably, that he was far below the surface of the earth.

This realization, oddly enough, left him with no sense of unease, only curiosity. But not for where he _was_. No, he was intrigued by where he was _going_.

Something was up ahead; he could _sense_ it.

Suddenly the hall seemed to melt away, and he found himself before a massive circular door so large and imposing that it stretched as far as the eye could see, disappearing into the veil of night that surrounded him.

Emblazoned in the center of the giant door was a gleaming flower, all of its petals pulled in toward the center, tightly closed. Without thinking, Aang placed his hand upon it, and then stepped back to watch as, one by one, the petals unfolded, each in succession locking loudly into place around the outer rim with mechanical precision.

As the hollow echoes of the last opening petal faded into stillness once more, the door split down the center and swung inward with a resounding groan, expelling a burst of light that forced the young air bender to shield his eyes with his arm against the overwhelming radiance.

When the initial blast of illumination dimmed to a tolerable level, Aang dropped his hand and tried to peer inside. Beyond the open door, he could hear whispering.

"Hello?" he called tentatively. He waited a moment longer before inquiring a little louder, "Is someone there?"

There was no reply, but the hushed voices continued their quiet exchange. Someone was definitely in there, although he could see nothing past the light.

Gathering up his courage, he stepped through the glowing portal.

* * *

Aang opened his eyes with a start. It was still dark outside, but he could tell by the low thrum of warmth in his veins that dawn was not far off. Across the dying embers from where he lay, he heard low voices murmuring in the dark.

"Do you think it means anything?" Katara was asking in subdued tones.

"I'm not sure I want to _think_ about what it could mean," Zuko's voice answered softly, "The whole thing was just…too disturbing."

Sitting up, Aang rubbed one eye tiredly as the other adjusted to the dim light of the banked campfire. The movement apparently caught the prince's attention, for he looked in that direction and straightened with a surprised expression.

"Aang!" he blinked, "What are you doing up?"

"We weren't talking too loud, were we?" chimed in Katara worriedly.

"No," Aang reassured her with a sleepy yawn, "I just had a weird dream is all."

Katara patted the ground, inviting Aang to come sit with them. As he settled down beside her, she smiled and handed him a cup of hot tea.

"So did Zuko," she informed him wryly.

Taking the cup, Aang leaned forward around Katara to look at his friend incredulously.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she chuckled good-naturedly, "his thrashing woke me up."

"I said I was sorry," mumbled Zuko despondently.

"It's _okay_, Zuko," Katara insisted for what, by the tone of her voice, must have been the third or fourth time already. She smirked at him playfully, placing a consoling hand on his knee while she teased, "I didn't really want to sleep in this morning anyway."

Zuko couldn't help but grin lopsidedly in reply, gratefully enjoying the comfort and understanding that she had shown him since his rather alarming awakening. They smiled companionably at one another for a moment before Zuko finally noticed Aang watching them with a dejected frown.

It immediately occurred to Zuko that three was a crowd.

The prince self-consciously dropped his gaze to Katara's hand still resting on his leg. Swallowing uncomfortably, he placed his own over hers and gently removed it.

"I think I'll take a walk around," he announced with forced ease and standing up, "to stretch my legs a bit."

With that, he began heading away from the camp, and Aang felt strangely disquieted when he saw the wounded look that crossed Katara's face at Zuko's abrupt departure. She continued staring after him as he left, her forehead crinkling with concern. Clearing his throat, Aang decided to make the most of his opportunity to talk to Katara privately.

"So…did you want to hear about _my_ dream?" asked Aang hopefully.

"What? Oh! Of course, Aang," she replied distractedly, getting to her feet and gathering up her cookware. "You can tell me about it while I fix breakfast."

The Avatar's shoulders sagged with disappointment, frustrated by the knowledge that Zuko had left specifically so that Aang could spend some time alone with Katara, and now she wasn't even interested in what he had to say.

He watched her as she stoked the fire and bent some water into the large crock. Upon finishing that, she began to measure out some rice from a bag, pausing briefly to give him an expectant glance.

"Aren't you going to tell me?" she asked before returning her attention back to the rice she was adding to the pot.

Letting out a small sigh, Aang resigned himself to having only half Katara's ear as he relayed the events of his dream.

"Well, I was walking down a tunnel…more of a hallway actually, somewhere underground-"

"I'm sorry, Aang," she interrupted apologetically, pointing with her spoon toward a bag near where he sat, "but could you hand me those herbs?"

"Sure," he mumbled, dutifully picking up the small sack and bringing them to her.

"Thanks," she replied absently. After a moment of silence during which she dug through the spices, oblivious to Aang's longing gaze, Katara prompted again, "You were saying?"

"Huh?" Aang snapped out of his pensive reverie with a jolt. "Right…um…anyway. Then I was standing in front of a huge wall. Or maybe it was a _door_," he mused, scratching his head as the details of his dream began to fade into the muddled mess that dreams often do upon waking.

"It _was_ a door," he continued with certainty, finally remembering, "and it had a flower on it. It was glowing and-"

"Wait," Katara interrupted, stopping what she was doing to look up at Aang in astonishment. "Did you just say it had a _flower_ on it?"

"Yeah, all the petals were closed at first, but then they unfolded one by one, and when they did, the door opened."

Aang paused to regard Katara curiously, having noticed the way her expression shifted from surprise to worry during his description.

"Why?" asked Aang with a hint of suspicion, "Do you know what it means?"

"No," she replied vaguely, turning her eyes toward the east where the sun was only just beginning to peek above the ocean.

Aang followed her gaze to a lone figure practicing on the hillock overlooking the beach. There was troubled wonder in her voice when she spoke again, and what she divulged sent a chill down Aang's spine.

"But Zuko described the _exact_ same thing from his dream."

* * *

The rendezvous point where they were supposed to meet Huo wasn't far from where they landed the night before, an hour hike at best. So rather than push Appa, who was still tired from the two days of hard flight there from the crags, they walked. Since Sokka had a pretty good idea of where they were going, he took the lead, the others following along behind him with the bison bringing up the rear.

At some point, Zuko fell back a bit to walk alongside Appa and, seeing this, Aang slowed down as well until he was abreast with his fire-bending teacher, letting everyone else move out of earshot. The prince seemed lost in thought, and didn't notice that Aang was walking beside him until the younger boy spoke up.

"So…I was wondering about that door you saw in your dream," he began hesitantly.

Zuko frowned slightly as he responded, "Katara told you about that?"

"Only because it was in my dream too," Aang explained soberly.

What Aang didn't say was that Katara had refused to tell him any more about Zuko's dream, instead insisting that he talk directly to Zuko. For his part, the prince seemed doubtful, almost irritated.

"How is that even _possible_?"

"Zuko, you're the great-great-grandson of my _previous life_," Aang retorted dryly, "I think it's safe to assume that we share some sort of spiritual connection. _Any_thing is _possible_."

"I suppose you have a point," Zuko admitted. After a momentary pause, he glanced apprehensively at Aang before asking, "Did you go through it?"

"I tried," answered the Avatar dolefully, "but I woke up. So I was hoping maybe you did." Seeing Zuko's obvious reluctance to say anything, Aang pressed, "_Did_ you?"

The prince let out a short, resigned sigh. "Yeah."

"_And_?" Aang prompted excitedly, "What was on the other side?"

"Empty beds," Zuko replied with a troubled scowl, "Dozens of empty beds….and voices."

Blinking at yet another eerie similarity to their dream, Aang divulged pensively, "I heard whispering on the other side of the door…before I tried to walk through it. But I couldn't hear what they were saying."

"I could."

Startled, Aang jerked his up to look at the prince, noticing with some surprise that he was gazing back with a deeply troubled, almost tormented expression.

Despite being suddenly fearful of the answer, Aang inquired nonetheless, "What did they say?"

A pang of sadness crossed Zuko's face before he looked away and answered, stopping Aang in his tracks and ending the conversation entirely.

"They wanted to go _home_."

* * *

**Author's note:** Just a couple of quick mentions here.

First off, a sincere thanks to soupcan and Shadowsole for letting me know that you're still reading. It's always so good to hear from people who haven't reviewed in a while! And there was one (sort of) new name last chapter: AvacadoLove (although the name isn't _technically_ new to me since I'm already enjoying her story 'In His Shoes').

Also, congratulations go to dead2self, who completely nailed the Lo'Khi/White Lotus connection a couple of chapters back, earning her pick of scene from this series for me to illustrate next.

Speaking of illustrations, a fully rendered version of the 'crutch sketch' I did of Zuko and Katara on the cliff has been added to my deviantArt page. I originally wasn't going to bother since only a couple of people expressed any interest in seeing it colored, but ultimately, I just couldn't stand seeing an unfinished drawing in my gallery. (sigh) I can be such an annoying perfectionist sometimes.

And lastly, NullChronicler asked this in his review, and I'm sure some others of you are also wondering; what does 'gloaming' mean? Well, it's another word for 'twilight', but in a poetic sense, it is often viewed in a more ominous manner: an end of days, or a transition into darker times or events. At least, that is how I am using it here…


	14. 18:3 New Techniques

**Fire Chapter 18: The Gloaming**

Segment 3: New Techniques.

A messenger hawk was waiting at the abandoned manor where they were supposed to meet Huo, the accompanying scroll informing them that he would be delayed by a day or two. No explanations were given, but considering the rather delicate nature of their correspondence, they didn't really expect one.

The house itself was situated near a cliff overlooking the ocean, giving it a great view of the surrounding area. In the distance, they could see several other small islands, most of which were uninhabited as well, according to Ty Lee. In fact, only one was populated; a small port town that served primarily as a stopping point for privately owned vessels traveling from the outer chain to Ember Island near the capital.

With their rendezvous delayed, that left the group free to do other various activities. Katara went into the house to air the place out and make it habitable and Toph followed, using the time to familiarize herself with the layout so she could find her way around the wooden structure, while Sokka scouted the grounds for any sign of edible vegetation as their food stores were getting low again.

Meanwhile, Aang and Zuko trained with Ty Lee until the Avatar's fingers (and Zuko's arms and legs, since he was serving as the practice target) were sore from the repeated attempts at chi blocking. It was during a break from Aang's lessons that Katara came out into the courtyard to find Ty Lee enthusiastically praising the young air bender while Zuko lay flat out on his back on the cobblestones.

"Are you okay?" Katara asked the prince worriedly as she walked toward him.

"Aside from the fact that I can't bend, and my arms and legs feel like jelly," he replied tonelessly before turning his head to give her a rather contented grin, "I'm doing great."

"Don't worry," interjected Aang cheerfully as he came over to help Zuko sit up, "next time, you get to fight back."

"Fight back?" echoed Katara with a hint of dismay, bending down to help Aang with Zuko.

"Yep," Ty Lee chimed in, "Now that Aang knows what points to hit, he'll have to start practicing on a _moving_ target."

Finally upright with Aang and Katara's assistance, and sitting his with back against the courtyard fountain as the others stood around him, Zuko glanced up at Ty Lee, his arms still hanging limply at his sides and his legs sprawled uselessly in front of him.

"So, how long does this _last_ anyway?" he inquired.

"A while," Katara answered dolefully, speaking from experience, "and unfortunately there isn't much I can do to help."

Ty Lee turned to her friend and blinked in guileless confusion, "Why not?"

"Well, cuts and burns are one thing," Katara explained, "but this isn't exactly a _wound_ I can _heal_."

"But couldn't you just…_water bend_ the flow back to normal?" offered Ty Lee with a shrug. Seeing the skeptical expressions on the others' faces, she continued hesitantly, "I mean…blood is just water in the body, after all. That's the whole principal behind the chi blocking technique."

"You're suggesting that I _bend_ Zuko's," Katara's face scrunched up in grimace of distaste, "…_blood_?"

"It should be possible," the acrobat pointed out reasonably.

"I don't know," balked Katara, shaking her head uncomfortably, "It just seems so…_invasive_.

She spared a glance at Aang, who seemed as unsettled about the idea as she did, but the prince spoke, forcing her attention back down to where he was craning his neck to stare into her face.

"Katara, I can't move my arms _or_ my legs right now," he rationalized pleasantly. "Trust me, I won't mind if you try."

"He _does _make a pretty good practice dummy," Aang agreed, earning him a scowl from Zuko before he corrected hastily with a short apologetic laugh, "er, _target_."

"I suppose it's worth a shot," the water bender finally conceded reluctantly.

Pulling a stream of liquid from the dormant fountain, she settled down beside Zuko, using her healing abilities to determine precisely where the chi was blocked, while Aang and Ty Lee watched with anxious interest. Once the affected areas were pinpointed, she sent the water back to the pool and focused her concentration on the blood itself.

Just as Ty Lee suspected, it _was_ possible. But it was a wholly disconcerting experience, moving Zuko's blood through his veins and restoring the restricted flow to its natural current. It wasn't just the fact that she was bending blood either. She was reaching _inside_ his body, invading him in a way that left her feeling overwhelmed with disgrace.

About midway through the procedure, it also occurred to her with some horror that, if she had a mind to, she could probably pull the fluid in his body and manipulate it like a puppet, forcing him to do whatever she willed. Right behind that thought was the awareness that at this moment she had the power to halt the rhythm of his coursing blood _entirely_. But even more disturbing was the fact that there was a time not too long ago when she actually _wanted_ to do _just that_.

And the realization _terrified_ her.

Risking a wary peek at Zuko, she noted that his eyes were closed, and he was very obviously concentrating on his breathing, trying to stay relaxed so she could work. In the back of her mind, through the haze of guilt and self-revulsion, she couldn't help but wonder if this experience was as frightening for him as it was for her. She got her answer when the prince suddenly sucked in a quick breath.

"I think you can stop now," he whispered in a strained voice.

Immediately, she stopped bending, and the abruptly broken connection to Zuko's lifeblood jolted through her like a shockwave. She swooned back on her heels with a gasp and, as one, Aang and Zuko reached out instinctively to steady her.

"Katara!" Aang cried simultaneously with Zuko's worried, "Are you alright?"

Her eyes fell to Zuko's hand on her arm, and she smiled weakly.

"Looks like it worked at least."

Retracting his hold on her, he moved his limbs experimentally, trying and failing to put a smile on his face for her benefit. The truth was the encounter had shaken him every bit as much as it had her, if for slightly different reasons.

"Yeah, it worked," he affirmed in a voice filled with apology.

He rose to his feet, helping Aang get Katara to hers as she let out a shaky laugh.

"I'm glad, but I don't think I want to try that again any time soon," she confessed faintly.

"You won't have to," promised Aang decisively. "Right, Zuko?"

"Right," the prince concurred promptly, keeping to himself the fact that, even if he were on death's doorstep, he would _never_ ask her to do that again. He felt guilty enough for encouraging it in the first place.

"But, Aang still has to practice this," Katara protested faintly.

"He won't be blocking _all_ the pathways anymore," Ty Lee interjected quickly. "Now that he's learned the pressure points, he just needs to work on landing a hit during combat."

"And I think I can manage if it's just one at a time," added Zuko reassuringly.

Unable to repress a relieved sigh, Katara nodded. She wasn't sure what had taken more out of her: the concentration required to move blood through a human body, or the appalling possibilities it presented. A wave of nausea at the thought washed over her and she swayed on her feet, prompting both boys to grab hold of her once more.

"Maybe you should lie down," suggested Zuko before he could stop himself, and he immediately regretted it when he saw Aang's expression darken for barely an instant.

The prince quickly stepped away, letting the young Avatar take Katara in his care. Aang was still shorter than she was, and had to reach up slightly to get his arm around her shoulders.

"Come on," the air bender urged gently as he led her away. "Let's go inside so you can rest."

Left alone in the courtyard, Ty Lee glanced over at Zuko and noticed the way his shoulders sagged with melancholy regret. As guilty as she felt for having mentioned the possibility of blood bending, she knew that the banished prince took his role in what had happened much deeper to heart….and her own ached for him.

"Zuko," she offered timidly, "none of us could have known what would happen. You didn't do anything wrong."

He lifted his head to fix her with a strange expression that suddenly made Ty Lee doubt that Katara's discomfiture about blood bending was the sole root of his anguish. But the prince said nothing that would confirm or dispel her suspicions.

Instead, he took one last glance at the doorway Aang and Katara had just passed through before quietly turning around and walking the other way.

* * *

Prince Zuko wandered aimlessly through the empty house, carelessly examining a curio here or righting a table there as his mind drifted somewhere far more distant. Much of the place looked to have already been tidied by Katara, which made the occasional overturned piece of furniture seem incredibly out of place. Had she overlooked them somehow?

A loud crash from somewhere above him on the second floor interrupted his musings, and he dashed up a nearby staircase to see what had caused the ruckus. Following the continuing clatter, Zuko eventually discovered the source of the disturbance.

Sitting in the middle of what was apparently once a library was a very dusty, very disheveled, very _disgruntled_ looking Toph, with bits and pieces of tattered books and splintered wood still flying around the room as she hurled it from a pile around her. Zuko had just enough time to duck back into the hallway before a metal scroll case zipped his way and rebounded with a hollow clang on the doorframe.

After that, the room became silent, and the prince cautiously peeked around the doorway.

"Toph?"

"Don't help me!" she yelled irritably, pointing a finger in his general direction, "I can figure this out myself!"

"What are you _doing_?" he asked in confusion, surveying the wreckage.

She rose to her feet, dusting off bits of parchments and debris from her arms as she answered through gritted teeth.

"_Exploring_."

Without further explanation, she began sliding her foot forward through the mess, feeling her way with toes and outstretched fingers to avoid the litter of boxes and book stacks filling the room. Seeing that she was about to collide with a protruding table leg, Zuko stepped forward.

"Look out, there's a-"

"Shut it, Princey!" she snapped. "I told you, I can do this myself!"

She promptly racked her shin on the overturned table. Giving the offending object a fierce kick, she proceeded to rub the newly blooming bruise, muttering under her breath all the while. She heard Zuko's light intake of breath as he begand to say something, and Toph held up a warning finger, halting him before he could speak.

"Not a _word_," she growled.

Zuko merely shook his head at her stubbornness, and then turned to leave the room, calling over his shoulder as he went.

"I'll be right back."

Passing by two empty rooms, he finally found what he sought resting in a small bin near the stairs. He returned to the shattered library a moment later to find Toph on the floor once more, this time pulling a splinter from her foot.

"What _idiot_ of an architect decided that houses here should be made of _wood_?" she grumbled when she heard his returning footsteps. "You'd think in a nation full of fire benders, you people would use something less _combustible_!"

"It reminds us to stay in control," he explained mildly as he picked his way through the rubble to her. "You learn to be careful with your bending when you know that one wrong blast can send your entire home burning down around your ears."

He prodded her gently with the cane he had fetched from the hallway, "Here."

She took it gingerly and ran her fingers over the smooth surface.

"You're giving me a stick to _beat_ you with?" she asked wryly.

"No," he replied patiently, reaching down to help her back to her feet. "Sweep it out in front of you. It will let you know if the way is clear."

With a doubtful frown, she did as he instructed, and immediately discovered that she was inches away from yet another stubbed toe. Swinging the cane in the other direction, she found another obstacle, but this one was further away. Edging around the first, she continued whisking the stick back and forth, finding a clear path through the room as she went.

She said not a word as she navigated her way back to the door, and Zuko waited until she crossed the threshold before following after.

"Try to keep the end touching the floor," he suggested, "to make sure there's actually one there."

"_What_?" she nearly shrieked, the implications of his warning leaving her with a sudden sense of panic. "Are you telling me you people build _holes_ in your floors _too_?"

"You came up a flight of _stairs_, Toph," he pointed out dryly.

"Oh," she laughed sheepishly, "right."

They continued down the hallway in silence for a few moments as Toph got the hang of her new walking stick, deftly avoiding what would have previously been several battered legs and numerous muttered curses.

"So what gave you this idea anyway?" Toph finally asked, holding up the cane briefly before sliding it in an arc before her again.

"Ru uses one to get around outside of his house," the prince shrugged.

Toph nodded vaguely in understanding as they took a few more steps down the corridor,

"It's not so bad, actually," she admitted.

Then, before Zuko knew what was happening, she whirled the cane around behind him and swept his feet out from under him, sending him thudding backward to the floor.

"Nope, not bad at all," she concluded nonchalantly.

And with that, she strolled off down the hallway leaving Zuko propped up on elbow and staring after her in shock. But in the end, he had to laugh at himself for being foolish enough to hand the World's Greatest Earth Bender yet one more tool to add to her arsenal of tricks.

Still shaking his head, he mumbled under his breath as he watched her practically sail down the stairs with ease.

"I think I've just created a monster."

But the moment the words passed his lips, the grin faded, and he wondered painfully if perhpas Katara feared the same thing about herself.

* * *

**Author's note:** Before anyone says anything…I know, I know, blood bending can only be done at night during a full moon. However, in my defense, that wasn't a factor I was aware of or had anticipated when I originally planned all of this almost a year and a half ago.

And unfortunately, the moon phases I've mapped out for this story are already set and can't be changed now (yes, I actually built a _calendar_ for my mock season; complete with moon phases…I am _such_ a geek). So while the moon _will_ be full in this 'episode', I'm not including it as a condition for blood bending. If I had known beforehand that a full moon was required, I would have made sure everything coincided. But it's a little late for that now.

I hope no one minds too much.

I also want to say that I was very impressed by some of the theories people presented about Aang and Zuko's dream and that _one of you actually got it right!_ (But I'm not saying who)

Anyway, the second part of this chapter is sort of a bonus that was never planned. The idea struck me on the way to work, and since it sort of fit with the theme of the segment title, I decided to go ahead and put it in. This 'episode' has been rather dark so far, and I thought it would help lighten things a bit.

Plus I just love Zuko/Toph interaction. It's so much fun to write.


	15. 18:4 What Lies Beneath

**Fire Chapter 18: The Gloaming**

Segment 4: What Lies Beneath

When Aang returned to the kitchen carrying two empty cups and the remnants of a pot of tea, he found Zuko morosely poking through the cupboards. Most of their meager stores had already been neatly arranged on the empty shelves by Katara, but there wasn't enough there to last them more than another day at best.

Oddly enough, though, they had plenty of _tea_.

"We're probably going to have to make trip to that town soon," Aang remarked as he set the dishes he was carrying in the sink.

Zuko only nodded, idly putting away the things Katara hadn't gotten to yet. They worked in silence for a few moments: one cleaning out the teapot and cups, while the other finished stowing the rest of their food supplies.

"How is she?" the prince finally asked in a quiet voice.

"She'll be fine," Aang assured him, "she's just tired."

Another nod, followed by more silence, then…

"It wasn't your fault, Zuko."

Surprised by the sudden statement, Zuko spun around to regard Aang soberly. Ty Lee had said the same thing, but somehow, it meant so much more coming from Aang. The only reply the prince could muster was a small but grateful smile, which the Avatar readily returned.

At that moment, Momo came swooping into the kitchen, trilling and chattering loudly as he practically crash-landed on the center counter. Both boys jumped back in surprise, immediately looking about for the cause of the lemur's distress. They half expected Huo's hawk to come flying in on Momo's heels; after all, it wouldn't be the first time a messenger bird tried to have the little guy for lunch.

But there was only Momo, jabbering animatedly at two completely clueless teens. All they could do was stare in befuddlement at the diminutive creature as he continued to wildly chirp and gesticulate. Then, seemingly finished with his diatribe, the lemur suddenly lept off the counter and flew back out the way he had come.

"What was _that_ all about?" wondered Aang.

Zuko opened his mouth to declare that he hadn't the slightest idea, but closed it again when a disquieting thought occurred to him. He frowned suspiciously, and then glanced at his younger friend with a worried scowl as he put words to his unsettling hunch.

"Where's Sokka?"

* * *

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it," Sokka called with forced nonchalance from his position in the floor.

"Sokka! What happened?" demanded Aang as he and Zuko hurried over to the small, run-down dojo out past the gardens where Sokka was trapped.

All that could be seen of him through the open doorway was his legs and part of his body from the shoulders up. The rest of him, including his arms, was stuffed backward into a hole in the middle of the floor. Had it not been for Momo leading them to the sounds of his struggles, they might have never found him amidst the weeds and ivy overrunning the building.

"Careful!" Sokka warned as they were about to enter, "the floor is rotted out."

Placing a hand on Aang's shoulder in a silent command to wait, Zuko stepped in first, carefully testing each step before placing his full weight on the dilapidated wooden floorboards. They creaked and groaned as he crossed the room, but at last, he managed to arrive safely at his helpless friend. Once there, he waved for Aang to follow, who merely lept the distant with a swift breeze.

Standing on either side, they grabbed the warrior by the shoulders and began to try and free him. They tugged and pulled to no avail while Sokka gritted his teeth and grunted with each successive yank.

"This isn't working," observed Zuko dourly as they paused to catch their breath.

"Maybe if we loosen one of these boards…" Aang mused as he stooped to jiggle one experimentally.

A loud splintering sound rent the room, and before either Aang or Zuko could react, Sokka disappeared completely into the floor, a loud thud following an instant after his departure. Immediately alarmed, they both peered down into the hole, their heads popping into Sokka's view from where he sprawled on the ground below.

"Are you okay?" asked Zuko worriedly.

"Fine," Sokka called up in a cracked voice, "just fine…"

He proceeded to roll to his feet, dusting off his aching limbs as his eyes adjusted to the dim light filtering down from above.

"Hang on," instructed Aang, "we'll get some rope to haul you out."

"Wait!" hollered the trapped teen suddenly. "I think there's something else down here. Bring me some light, will you?"

The other two looked at each other with a shrug and then Zuko lept gracefully down into the hole, Aang dropping right behind him on a cushion of air. Upon summoning small flaming globes in their hands, they looked around to discover the rotted remains of a ladder not far from where Sokka fell. Above it, a latch could be seen gleaming dully in the firelight.

Apparently, the section of floor where he'd been stuck was once a door and they were now in the shaft beneath it. Upon further inspection, they spotted a corridor of hard-packed earth leading off into the darkness.

The three boys looked from one to the other; the decision to investigate the passage was both silent and unanimous.

Before long, the corridor rang with the hollow echoes of their footfalls, and they found themselves in what appeared to be a vast, metal clad room. A single shaft of light penetrated the darkness, and near the puddle of illumination it created could be seen the faint glimmer of silver through the thick dust.

"Check this out," Sokka said as he strode over to it and swept away the cobwebs to reveal a large concave metal bowl attached to a swiveling stand.

"It's like the ones in the deeper parts of the Western Air temple," remarked Zuko as he examined it.

"I don't ever remember seeing any," remarked Aang. "When was this?"

"When I went there before," answered the prince distractedly as walked out into the chamber with his flame held high, but it didn't reveal much.

"It must have been someplace I was never allowed to go before," the Avatar mused.

"They were in an unfinished area of the temple," explained Zuko as he came back over to them.

"What are they for?" wondered Sokka aloud.

"We didn't mess with them, so I'm not sure…"

Zuko laid a hand upon it to take a closer look, inadvertently tilting it in the process. It caught the beam of sunlight and a bright radiance bounced off the surface to the other side of the room, hitting another mirror mounted to the wall before rebounding to yet another, and another along the length of the room. All at once, the place was filled with light, revealing it in its entirety.

"_Whoa_," the boys all gasped in unison.

Now that they could see, Aang and Zuko put out their flames and the three wandered freely around the hall. There were several low tables surrounded by mildewed reed mats, and various pieces of crockery were neatly stacked on rows of shelves along the walls. There were also tapestries hanging here and there throughout the room, but they were so tattered and moth-eaten that their emblems were indistinguishable.

"What is this place?" breathed Aang.

"Looks like a dining hall," answered Sokka, "but what is one doing down here when there's a perfectly good house up above?"

Aang and Sokka continued poking around the room, remarking on interesting finds. But after a while, the Avatar noticed that Zuko wasn't joining in with the exploration, and he wasn't nearby. Glancing around the room, he spotted the prince standing at the far end, staring at a shallow recess in the wall.

"Zuko?"

When no answer came, Aang and Sokka exchanged a worried glance and headed over toward their friend.

"Did you find something?" asked the warrior uncertainly.

"I found a door."

Sure enough, set into the wall was a large circular door, the surface of which had been blackened ages ago. Sokka examined it carefully, running his hands along the sooty surface for a moment before declaring disappointedly, "There's no handle."

"The fire-locks are broken," stated Zuko tonelessly, pointing to two openings on either side of the door, "I already tried them."

Aang, who was peering at one of the holes, frowned as he chimed in, "I'm not sure this one is a fire-lock." Seeing the confused faces of his companions, he explained, "Air benders use something similar in the temples. This looks more like one of those."

Fire bender and air bender looked guardedly at one another, and then wordlessly took up their stances as Sokka stepped back. As one, the two boys blasted their native elements into the apertures and they were quickly rewarded by the groan and squawk of aged metal. This was shortly followed by the hollow clang of multiple locks reverberating, one at a time, as they slid home.

It was sound with which they were both all too familiar, and they glanced at each other while drawing in identical uneasy breaths.

When the last bolt was released, the door swung open, and the two boys swallowed concurrently. With one last exhale, they stepped through the dark portal.

Zuko wasn't typically given to weakness such as fear. There were only a handful of things that actually scared him. But the sight he beheld now terrified him in a way that left him frozen in shock and silence.

Aang was likewise immobilized with dread, leaving Sokka staring at both of them with open concern. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what had the two of them so obviously spooked, nor could he understand the cold horror in Zuko's hoarse whisper.

There was nothing in the room except…

"_Empty beds_."

"I don't get it," puzzled Sokka, "why is all this _here_? Is this some sort of…storm shelter or something?"

By now, Aang had recovered from his initial shock as was moving about the room, looking for clues that might answer the riddle while Sokka did the same. Zuko merely stood in place, his eyes scrutinizing the place.

"Maybe…" murmured Zuko, but he didn't sound very convinced of the idea.

Something in here was very familiar, and he wasn't able to discern what it was until he realized that the illuminated mirrors in the other room were not the source of light in here.

"But then why would they put a lock on the door that only a fire bender and air bender _combined _could open?" interjected Aang solemnly.

Stepping closer to one of the amber-glowing crystals on the wall, he raised the corner of a faded tapestry, the top end of which had rotted and left it hanging down on top of itself. His eyes widened when he saw the image imprinted on it.

"I don't know," answered Zuko, "But I think I know how we can get some answers."

"How?" Aang asked as he came up beside his teacher.

The prince lifted the corner completely to reveal a faded lotus emblazoned on the fabric as he slyly replied.

"Do you feel up to a game of _Pai Sho_?"

**

* * *

**

Author's notes:

If anyone is looking for some good stories to read, might I recommend one (or both!) of the following:

**Frozenheart** by **Mr. Watch and Learn: **a post-war story about a mysterious fog causing havoc in the Earth Kingdom. I'm actually the beta on this, so I've read the whole plot outline, and it's a _very_ well thought out story. Definitely check this out!

**Melon Pods: a sticky situation gets hot** by **meterbroken: **a _must-read_ for any fan of the Zuko/Katara pairing that likes unusual situations handled in a believable manner. Meterbroken has also done several amazing one-shots for the 'Zutara Week' thing that are worth checking out as well.

So go have a look and _**be sure to let them know what you think!**_

And lastly, the scene illustration selected by dead2self is now posted on my deviantArt page for those who are interested.


	16. 18:5 Keeping Secrets

**Fire Chapter 18: The Gloaming**

Segment 5: Keeping Secrets

The boat they found didn't exactly appear seaworthy. And, sure enough, when they launched it into the water that evening from the hidden cove they found by way of the underground bunker, it immediately sprung a leak. But before Zuko could fret too much over it, Aang stepped forward and froze the seeping liquid over the hole, sealing the tiny vessel tight.

"Are you guys _sure_ about this?" Sokka voiced uneasily.

Zuko looked at Aang and asked, "You gave Katara the 'sleepy tea', right?"

"Yup."

Fetching a pair of oars from the side of the enclosed rocky bay, Zuko announced reassuringly to no one in particular.

"Then we'll be back before she wakes up in the morning."

"And if you're not?" the other boy pressed. "What am I supposed to tell her then?"

The prince paused, dropped the oars into the boat, and then straightened.

"You're the idea guy," he stated as he climbed in, "you'll think of something."

"Don't worry, Sokka," Aang added, getting into the boat as well, "we'll be fine. And we _will_ be back by sunrise."

"I still don't understand why this is such a big deal. It's just a mysterious, hidden, underground bunker with secret doors leading to some creepy room. We've seen a lot weirder."

"Zuko and I _both_ dreamed about that place," explained Aang patiently. "We _have _to find out more. And if Zuko is right about it being connected to the White Lotus, then they might be able to give us answers."

"Couldn't you at least take someone else with you?"

Aang and Zuko looked at each other as they considered the wisdom of this suggestion, and then turned to face Sokka to answer in accord.

"No."

* * *

Not much was said as the small craft made its way across the smooth sea, Aang propelling them with his water bending while Zuko sat at the back steering their course with a crude tiller rigged from one of the oars.

When the flicker of harbor lights could be seen growing on the horizon, the prince pulled the oar out of the water.

"You should let me take us the rest of the way in," he advised as he reached for the other oar. "We don't want anyone to see you water bending."

With a brief nod, Aang dropped from his stance and the two shifted places. Settling down across from each other, Zuko began to row them to shore. Suddenly left with nothing to do, the silence felt unusually awkward to Aang, and he found himself fidgeting anxiously….with questions on his mind.

"So…" he drawled casually, "have you thought any more about my 'inner turmoil' problem?"

Momentarily breaking the rhythm of his pull and then starting up again, Zuko answered slowly, "Actually, I have…."

"…And?"

"Well," stalled the prince uncomfortably, his rowing slowing slightly as he tried to put his thoughts to words, "I was thinking that maybe…well…what if it just has to be…_mutual_?"

"_Mutual_?" echoed Aang dryly.

"You said Roku mentioned something about being possessive," the prince reasoned uncertainly, setting the oars across his legs for a moment. "And…if you both feel the same way about each other, then…I mean you can't posses someone if they're _willing_, right?" he finished lamely.

Aang frowned as he mulled this over and asked, "Do you really think it could be that simple?"

Zuko shrugged helplessly, once again feeling like the worst person to be giving advice. And he was fairly certain it wasn't even _good_ advice, considering his…closeness…to the problem. But he had devoted a great deal of thought to the matter, and this was the only thing that seemed even remotely logical. Stupid, perhaps, but logical.

"I guess it _does_ make sense," the young Avatar pondered hopefully, not even questioning the possibility that Zuko might be wrong. "But if that's the only thing keeping me from the Avatar State," he continued in a tone of slight exasperation, "then why didn't Roku and Guru Pathik just _say_ that?"

"Because they're _old_ _guys_," scoffed the prince dourly as he began rowing again. "Old guys are _never_ straightforward."

Aang grinned and relaxed, oblivious to the pained expression darkening Zuko's face. The air bender was far too relieved at the idea that things would be all right if he could just find a way to make Katara love him back.

* * *

The town was a little larger than they had expected, but thankfully devoid of any military presence. Still, they weren't about to take any chances. So Zuko hung out in the shadowed alleys while Aang inconspicuously checked inside every teahouse and tavern in search of a Pai Sho board.

Waiting in the darkness outside what had to be the tenth establishment, Zuko was beginning to lose hope that they would even find what they were looking for. Perhaps this was a fool's errand after all.

He had just decided that they should give up their search and return to the manor when Aang's head popped around the corner, his face beaming with a wide grin.

"I found one!" he whispered excitedly.

Startled out of his dark musings by the unexpected outburst, it took Zuko a moment to register Aang's declaration. Long enough, in fact, that the air bender had to poke his head back into the alleyway a second time when he realized his friend was not following.

"Zuko, come on!"

Pushing himself off the wall, the prince padded silently after the boy and ducked into the doorway of the noisy teahouse. Any doubts he might have had about whether or not they'd finally achieved their goal were immediately dispelled when he felt the indefinable pull he'd experienced several weeks ago in Kazimizu.

With a brief tug on the cowl over his head to ensure no one could see his face, Zuko and Aang made their way through the crowded room to the secluded corner and stood across from the withered old man seated at the game board.

"May I have this game?" Zuko asked quietly.

"The guest has the first move," the elder replied.

Taking a steadying breath, Zuko sat down, picked up a white lotus tile, and slid it into the center of the board. Endless seconds passed, yet the old man said nothing, and Zuko's heart sank.

"I see you favor the white lotus gambit," he said at last. "Not many still cling to the ancient ways."

Zuko let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding.

"Those who do can always find a friend," the prince answered lowly while tilting his head up, and allowing his opponent a clear view of the scarred face beneath the hood.

The man's eyes widened only briefly before giving a discrete but respectful nod, and his tone was reverent when he spoke.

"Then let us play."

* * *

The curio shop that housed the secret meeting room was a ridiculously cluttered place. Row after row of shelves sported glimmering bits of tarnished jewelry, lacquered boxes dulled by time, and chipped figurines of fantastic creatures. There were fraying baskets with care worn handles, threadbare fabrics blanketed by dust, and faded scrolls tucked away in dry leather cases. Permeating the air was the ripe fragrance of damp pottery, seasoned wood, and cloying herbs. It smelled of secrets and legends, long forgotten heroes and lost romances.

It reminded Zuko achingly of his uncle.

They were led up a flight of stairs to a incongruously clean attic lit by a single candle, appointed only with some slightly tattered mats and a low table set for tea. The old man shut the door behind them, and then turned to Zuko with a solemn bow.

"I am Cha'Li. How may the Order assist you?"

* * *

By the time Aang and Zuko had finished telling Cha'Li about their shared dreams and their findings beneath the island manor, the teapot was empty and the candle on the table had burned down to a mere puddle-wick flickering in its saucer.

"So is there anything you can tell us?" asked Zuko anxiously.

Cha'Li didn't answer at first, instead rising to his feet, and walking over to a small side table tucked away in a corner where a pitcher of water waited.

"The air benders, as you know, were nomads," he began sagely while he refilled the teapot. "Therefore, not all of them were present at the temples when Sozin launched his attack."

"But he hunted the rest of them down," Zuko reminded him miserably, "And killed every one that was found."

"Yes," agreed Cha'Li sadly, as he sat back down at the table, "every one that was _found_."

The two boys looked at each other in confusion, unsure of the meaning of the old man's words.

"What are you _saying_?" demanded Aang suspiciously, recovering from his surprise.

"Prince Zuko," he addressed the other boy conversationally as he steeped the tea, seeming to ignore Aang, "after the Avatar emerged into the world once more, how is it that you managed to track him?"

The question had both boys taken aback for a moment, and Zuko could only stare dumbly at him before he found his voice and answered, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat awkwardly.

"I asked people if they'd seen a bald kid with blue arrow tattoos. It was actually pretty easy."

He cast an apologetic glance at Aang, who was sheepishly fingering the headband covering his forehead. Meanwhile, Cha'Li nodded thoughtfully.

"Ah yes, the marks of the air benders; those would make _any_ air bender easy to spot."

"_Master_ air benders," Aang corrected brightly, "and it usually takes _years_ to earn them. In fact, I was the only kid at my temple who even…"

The words died in his throat as he realized the implications of what he was saying. Suddenly all the pieces began to fall into place and he finished in a whisper.

"…had them."

Zuko's comprehension followed right on the heels of Aang's, and he gasped in understanding.

"The children were _hidden_! Kept underground until they looked like everyone else, and could blend in!"

Cha'Li smiled and nodded.

"The place you found is one of nearly a dozen scattered throughout the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom," he confirmed, pouring out another cup of tea. "Safe houses; where young, un-marked air benders could learn to adapt to a new way of life that would allow them to grow up unnoticed and unharmed."

Zuko's head was reeling at the news, and he suddenly remembered Junjie's cryptic words. _He is not the last. There are others if you know where to look for them._

"Well what happened to them?" Aang asked excitedly, elation ringing in his voice as he absorbed the possibility that he was no longer alone. "Where are they now?"

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that."

Aang's brief moment of joy was shattered in an instant, and he fell back as though physically wounded. Zuko couldn't believe his ears, and the sight of his friend's reaction sent him into a near rage.

"What you do you mean you can't _tell _us?" fumed the prince irately, jumping to his feet with his fists curled in fury. "He's the _Avatar_, and these are his _people_! He has every _right_ to know -"

"I cannot _tell_ you," the man interjected earnestly, "because I do not _know_."

This admission halted Zuko's heated anger, and he slowly took his seat as Cha'Li explained.

"In order to prevent any knowledge of the living air benders from reaching the Fire Lord, the Order made sure that no one, not even its members, would know where they had gone. I _am_ sorry," he said sincerely, "but there is nothing more I can tell you."

"I understand," Aang acknowledged dejectedly. Then he smiled with wan hope, "But now I know they're out there…somewhere."

"Their descendants, at the very least," Cha'Li agreed kindly, "Although they may be unaware of their heritage."

With a heavy sigh, Aang nodded his head, an overwhelming sense of optimism and frustration both warring inside his heart. Here he was, so close to finding other air benders, and yet he hadn't any clue or idea of how to find them. And then there was the matter of the approaching comet. Even if he _did_ know where to start, he couldn't….not yet.

A long moment of silence followed, Zuko watching the young Avatar sympathetically all the while. He knew firsthand the pain of almost getting back something lost, only to discover it was still beyond reach. The prince laid a comforting hand on Aang's shoulder.

"When this is over, I _will_ help you find them," he stated gravely. "I _promise_."

The prince was gratified to see a warm smile light Aang's face as he looked up, and Zuko returned it with one of his own. He fully intended to make good on his word when the time came for them to begin their search.

And he already had a pretty strong hunch about where they might start.

**

* * *

**

**Author's note:**

Well, I was going to wait until the FanFiction alert system came back up before posting this, but I got tired of it sitting on my computer. I hope everyone finds it okay. 


	17. 18:6 One Last Surprise

**Fire Chapter 18: The Gloaming**

Segment 6: One Last Surprise

A loud crash downstairs followed by the sound of muffled voices caused everyone in the attic to freeze. With a brisk wave over the sputtering candle, Cha'Li plunged the room into darkness.

"Wait here," he advised in a whisper, and then quietly slipped out of the room.

"Do you think we were spotted?" worried Aang.

"I don't know," Zuko murmured back, getting to his feet as his eyes adjusted to the moonlight shining in from the tiny window, "but we should be ready for anything."

Aang nodded solemnly and moved to a more defensible position in the room. After that, there was nothing to do but wait. A few moments later, they could hear Cha'Li speaking to someone as he approached the attic, and two pairs of footsteps accompanied his. The fugitives strained to catch the conversation.

"Ordinarily this wouldn't be allowed, but considering the circumstances, I'm sure the rules can be bent this once," the old man was saying.

"Thank you, Grandfather," replied an unfamiliar voice.

The boys relaxed, and a moment later the door opened to reveal Cha'Li carrying a fresh candle, followed by the two newcomers, one of whom was someone they actually recognized.

"Renzu?"

"Prince Zuko! Avatar Aang!" His voice was filled with a mixture of surprise and relief. "I'm so glad you're both okay!"

"I see you boys are already acquainted," Cha'Li remarked with a grin as he set the candle down and relit the first. He waved a hand toward the other teen, "This is my grandson, Lo'Khi."

"Actually, they sort of _do_ know me already," Lo'Khi admitted somewhat sheepishly. "Of course, you guys probably don't recognize me without my blast helmet."

At this, Zuko's eyes narrowed to slits.

"_You're_ the one who nearly blew Katara off the side of a _cliff_," he stated evenly.

Although the prince didn't sound particularly angry, there was a dangerous edge to his voice, and his eyes glittered coldly in the firelight. It was intimidating enough to make the accused soldier take a step back, his arms held up in a placating gesture.

"That wasn't intentional, I swear."

No response came from the prince, nor did his harsh expression diminish, and the tension in the room was almost palpable. Hoping to defuse the situation, Aang stepped forward and addressed Renzu.

"So what are you two doing here?"

"It's a long story, actually," Renzu chuckled.

Cha'Li smiled at this and beckoned the boys to sit before heading over to the corner table.

"I'll make some more tea."

* * *

By the time Aang and Zuko finally left the town, it was nearly dawn. But they weren't returning empty handed. Not only were they bringing back two allies, Cha'Li had also graciously given them plenty of food. And the small excursion boat Renzu and Lo'Khi had stolen was considerably faster, not to mention far less work to propel…at least for Aang.

Zuko had taken it upon himself to superheat the boiler so they could travel faster, insisting that the younger boy rest despite Aang's offers to help. They almost made it back before sunrise.

Almost.

* * *

The house was silent when the four boys entered, their arms loaded with supplies, and Aang and Zuko let out a shared sigh of relief when they saw that no one was up yet.

"I told you we'd make it back in time," Zuko remarked with a drowsy grin as they headed to the kitchen.

"Good thing too," the Avatar agreed sleepily, "we cut it pretty close."

Feeling enormously proud of themselves despite their extreme fatigue, they headed into the kitchen…only to find a very irritated water bender waiting for them, hands on hips and a look of fury on her face.

"Where have you two _been_?"

The guilty boys looked at each other with a grimace and Zuko muttered under his breath.

"Apparently, not close enough."

By now, Renzu and Lo'Khi had entered the room as well, and Katara straightened, blinking in confusion and surprise as she recognized one, but not the other.

"What are they doing here? And who is this?"

Setting the dry goods on the counter, Aang tiredly offered the introductions, if for no other reason than to put off Katara's lecture.

"Katara, this is Lo'Khi. Lo'Khi, Katara. And, you already know Renzu."

"Oh. Well…it's nice to meet you," the girl said kindly to their new guest.

"The pleasure is mine," he answered with as much of a bow as he could manage with his arms occupied by a rather large box.

"Oh, you can set that here," she said upon seeing his plight, clearing a space on the counter for him to unload.

While Katara was thus engaged making pleasantries with Lo'Khi and Renzu and putting away the groceries, Aang and Zuko wearily sat down on a long, cushioned bench to wait for the reprimand they knew was coming. After being up since before dawn the previous day, neither of them had the energy to do much else.

"Thank you for bringing all this," Katara said as they finished. "The rooms upstairs have been aired out if you'd like to go get some rest. You look like you've had a long journey."

"Yes, we have," admitted Renzu. Then he and Lo'Khi bowed as they both added, "Thank you."

She waited until they were gone before letting the smile slip from her face as she spun toward the ones who had caused her so much worry.

"As for _you two_-" she began heatedly.

But the sight that greeted her stopped her short, and all the bluster whooshed right out of her as her expression softened. They'd both fallen asleep where they sat, Zuko with his arms crossed over his chest and his head leaning back on the wall, and Aang slumped against the elder boy, snoring softly. Upon closer inspection, she noted the dark circles beneath their closed lashes, and she let out a small sigh, shaking her head.

Her smile was indulgent as she pulled a couple of pillows and blankets from the pile she had cleaned the day before and began gently easing Aang off of Zuko put him in a more comfortable position. After placing a tender kiss on his forehead, she then proceeded to lay Zuko down as well.

Once he was covered, she stared at him for moment, hesitating. Then, her decision made in the same breath as her uncertainty, she leaned down to give the prince the same courtesy she had shown the Avatar. But just before her lips touched his exposed cheek, his eyelids fluttered open briefly and she froze.

"We didn't mean to make you worry," he murmured.

Color rushed to her face at the realization of their proximity, but he didn't seem to notice, and if she hadn't been mere inches from his mouth, she never would have heard his whispered apology.

"It's okay, Zuko," she assured him softy, freeing a tuft of hair from the corner of his eye. "Just get some sleep."

He'd obeyed her command before she even finished giving it.

With a sigh borne of something close to relief, she stood up and began to walk out of the room, pausing to look over her shoulder one last time with a fond smile.

"What _am_ I going to do with you two?"

* * *

**Author's note:** And so ends the 'abridged episodes'. The next ones will be the full deal again.

I have to admit that I am_ extremely_ daunted about writing them. After watching the 2-hour finale _three times_ (it was _that_ good!), I've come to the conclusion that there is _no way_ I'll be able to compete with it. But I'm going to do my version anyway, because I owe you all that much.

Just please don't be terribly disappointed when it's not as spectacular as the real thing. My ending was planned out a _long_ time ago, and even though I might be taking a few ideas from the finale for some of the combat moves, what I have to offer is still going to be nowhere _near_ as epic.

However, I promise to try my best.


End file.
